Heirs, Heiress
by Hardcore Chocolate Lover
Summary: Natsume is the heir of the Hyuuga Corporation. Mikan is the heiress of the Yukihara Corporation, but everybody except Hotaru doesn't know that. Now a girl wanting to be engaged to Natsume and will do anything to make him love her enters the picture. AU.
1. Beginnings

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Gakuen Alice.

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><p>Alice Academy, a prestigious school where politicians, celebrities, entrepeneurs' children are enrolled. Only rich people can afford to enroll their children in Alice Academy.<p>

"Dang! I'll be late again if I don't hurry! Stupid alarmclock! Where were you when I need you?"

She went downstairs running and rode to one of her father's vehicle.

"Mr. Hijiro please hurry or I'll be late again to school! I don't want detention from Jin-jin!"

Mr. Hijiro rolled his eyes and whispered, "Again?"

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><p>Minutes after, she arrived to school running to her classroom.<p>

She opened the door and noticed that her teacher hasn't arrived yet.

"Thankfully!" she said as she is panting.

She noticed her best friend fixing her invention,

"HOTARUUUUU!"

She came closer to her for a hug but then,

**BAKAN! BAKAN! BAKAN!**

"Don't come near me, I'm fixing something." Hotaru said.

"Old habits don't die huh?" Koko with his hands behind his head.

"Good Morning Koko!" Mikan said with a Smile

"Haha within five years they're doing it you're not used to see them like that every morning?" Sumire replied.

"Morning Permy!"

"It's SU-MI-RE Mikan"

"Whatever Permy."

"Hmph!" Irritated Sumire sat down in her seat.

Mikan noticed Ruka petting his rabbit and Natsume looking outside the window with his feet on the table. She went to them to greet them.

"Good Morning Ruka-pyon!"

"Good Morning Natsume!"

"Good Morning Sakura." Ruka said with a smile on his face

Natsume turned his attention to Mikan "What's the menu today? Oh, Kiwis."

1…2…3…

"PERVERT!" She tried to hit Natsume in the head, but as usual, he dodged it.

Mikan's face is red due to embarrassment and anger.

"NATSUME!" Her voice echoed all over the school.

"Ahem, ms. Sakura." Jinno tapping his foot.

Mikan immediately sits.

"Detention after class." Mikan glared at Natsume and muttered something under her breath.

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><p>LUNCH TIME!<p>

As usual, Mikan, Hotaru, Natsume, Ruka, Koko, Sumire, Nonoko, Anna, and Yuu, would sit together and chat about everything.

"Hey, Koko, what are you reading? Is that the "Business" magazine?" Sumire asked.

"Wow, Koko I never imagined you will read a magazine like that, I thought you go for porn magazines?" Yuu jokingly said.

"Shut it Yuu, I took it because there are some interesting issues there."

"And what's that?"

"Turn to page 11."

_**Top five Most biggest and most famous corporations all over Japan:**_

_1. Yukihara Corporation_

_2. Hyuuga Corporation_

_3. Nogi Corporation_

_4. Imai Corporation_

_5. Koizumi Corporation_

_**Top five Most powerful corporations all over Japan:**_

_1. Yukihara Corp._

_2. Hyuuga Corp._

_3. Imai Corp._

_4. Nogi Corp._

_5. Yome Corp._

"Wow! Almost everyone we know made the list."

"And as usual Yukihara made it again at the number one list."

"That also reminds me, I heard this coming Saturday will be the Yukihara Corporation's 100th Anniversary and entrepreneurs from all over Japan are invited."

"Oh yeah, I heard about that."

"Then that means Natsume, Ruka, Imai, Koko, Sumire, Anna, Nonoko, Yuu, we will all be there, right?"

"Probably."

"I wish Mi-chan can come too."

"Yeah, It will be fun if Mikan can come too."

Mikan just smiled.

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><p>The class ended. Mikan decided to walk home but she saw Mr. Hijiro…<p>

"Mr. Hijiro, what are you doing here?"

"You have to ride home, mam, someone is waiting for you at the mansion."

"Who?"

"You will know soon after you arrive at the mansion." Mr. Hijiro smiled.

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><p><em>At the Yukihara Mansion…<em>

She was welcomed by two familiar faces. It was Mikan's parents. Mikan is very surprised because she thought that her parents are in New York working.

"Otousan? Okaasan? Is that you?"

"Of course, My dear, who else?"

She quickly hugged her mother and father upon seeing her parents just arrived after a very long time they are in New York.

"But, I thought that you will return here in Tokyo after you finished your work in New York? Does that mean you will not return in New York?"

"Nope, we're staying here for a few weeks. We came here to prepare for the upcoming Centennial Celebration of the corporation."

"Aww, Mom and dad, I really missed you!"

"We missed you too, honey." The three hugged again.

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><p><em>Meanwhile, at someone's house…<em>

"Ah, how nostalgic, we just arrived here in Tokyo after many years. How I miss this place."

Suddenly the door bust open showing a girl with blond hair and brown eyes coming near the man.

"Dad, I want to enroll in Alice Academy since we're staying here for good, I want to meet my Natsume-kun. I'm sure he missed me." A girl with blond hair requested.

"Did I tell you to knock on the door? Now I have to replace again the door for the 187th time." The man replied.

"Sorry daddy I just got excited whenever I think that my Natsume-kun and I will meet personally. I'm tired seeing pictures of him."

Irritated, he replied "Alright, alright we'll enroll you to that school. And also, quit dreaming things."

"Well, he's soon to be, my fiancé.That Natsume Hyuuga, Future heir of the Hyuuga Corporation. I'm sure you'll like him. And with Hyuuga Corporation's help, the money we are earning now will triple." The girl with blond hair convincing the man to her request.

The man turned his head to where the blond haired girl with brown eyes is standing.

"You mean the Natsume Hyuuga, future heir of the Hyuuga Corporation?"

"The one and only." The girl with blond hair replied smiling.

"Hmm, that's a good choice. Maybe I should arrange a meeting with them." He smirked.

"Kyaa! Even daddy agrees in our relationship I love you daddy! By the way, where's mom?"

"When we arrived here in Tokyo, she immediately took the afternoon flight to London saying that she will have a one month vacation there."

"She's strange as always."

"Yeah, like you." He said smiling.

"Haha, I know."

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><p><strong>A.N: <strong>Sorry for bad grammars and spellings. my first fanfic. :) -Yshii


	2. Rumors

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice.**

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><p><strong>Heir, Heiress<strong>

**Chapter 2: Eavesdropping is bad**

**By: Yshii**

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><p><em>The next day at Alice Academy…<em>

The door burst open and,

"OHAYOU MINNA!" It was Mikan, as usual, but more cheerful.

"Ohayou Mikan-chan, sounds like you are in a good mood today." Anna replied

"And surprisingly, she's not late." Koko turned to Mikan.

Hotaru was curious as of why her best friend is full of spirit today, or else she will be disturbed for the whole day hearing her best friend saying random things.

"Speak." Hotaru pointed her baka gun to Mikan, Mikan grinned widely.

"My parents just arrived! My parents just arrived! Can't you believe it?" Mikan squealed and jumped up and down.

Instead of replying, she pulled the trigger of her baka gun.

**BAKAN! BAKAN! BAKAN!**

_Baka as always._ Hotaru thought and returned to her seat. Hotaru knew that Mikan's parents are working overseas, it wasn't much of a surprise to her that her best friend is very happy when her parents arrived here in Tokyo after many years, unfortunately for everyone, they are somewhat confused because they didn't even know Mikan's parents at all, and yes, they are still in the classroom. They all heard Mikan's statement earlier(loud mouth).

"Well, that's great Mikan-chan."

"Yeah, but sadly, they will only stay here a few weeks, they have to prepare for the celebration."

"Mikan-chan, what celebration?" Anna asked

_Oops, I blurted out some infos._ Mikan sweated heavily.

"Ah, You will soon know." Mikan smiled.

Then the teacher arrives,

"Class today you have a new classmate. She came back to Tokyo to just a week ago and she is pretty famous because of her-"

Someone interrupted.

**Luna Koizumi**

**Age:** 14

**School: **Gakuen Alice… _for now._

Daughter of the president of the Koizumi Corporation. A Spoiled brat.

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><p>"Kyaa! <em>My<em> Natsume-kun I'm glad you're in the same class with me."

_Yeah, when you threatened us all in the staff room to go in my class even when we are full._ Narumi sensei thought to himself.

"Well, free time! Ja!" Narumi left the room.

The class murmured.

"What? _My_, Natsume-kun? Seriously she needs to check her brain." Sumire stood.

"For your information everyone, I'm Luna Koizumi, I'm the future fiancé of Natsume Hyuuga, those who try to take away Natsume from me, back off."

A dark cloud emitted from Natsume.

"Oops, Ms. Koizumi, I think you should stop saying useless things. No one knows what will Natsume will do to you."

"We are just reminding you."

"Natsume, who is she?" Ruka, worried.

"I don't even know her."

"Not yet." Luna told Natsume.

"I'm sorry Luna-chan but Natsume here is…_gay_." Natsume twitched his eyebrows, Mikan who pop out of nowhere, exclaimed that to the whole class, this caused all their heads to turn into where Natsume is sitting, _Silence._ It's either they don't know how to react to what the auburn haired girl is talking about or they are too scared to feel Natsume's wrath. Anger and irritation are evident in Natsume's eyes.

"What the hell are you saying, star printed panties?" Natsume pulled Mikan's hair.

"Don't worry, I'm helping you." Mikan whispered to Natsume, completely ignoring that she was called by her underwear prints.

"Yes, it's true, in fact he has a crush on Ruka-pyon." Mikan added. Ruka who doesn't know how to react to that statement, just fainted. A dark aura was emitted from Natsume. Mikan as dense as she was, grabbed Natsume's hand and walked away from the classroom. They went to Natsume's favorite Sakura tree.

"Natsume? Are you okay?" Mikan let go of Natsume's hand. Natsume just started reading his manga who appeared out of nowhere.

"I'm sorry, earlier, but that's the thing that came to my mind to save you, I know how much you hate fan girls, And I swear that woman isn't just a fan girl, she's crazy."

Silence filled the air. Natsume was disturbed because Mikan was quiet the whole time, Natsume liked it better that way, but he seems quite disturbed. He seems to be reading his manga when in the corner of his eye he is staring to Mikan, curious.

"Hey, what the hell are you two doing here? And that stunt you pulled earlier, I'm not buying it." Luna, who appeared out of nowhere, butted in.

"No, you are wrong we are having a girl talk here. Right Natsume?" She elbowed Natsume. _The hell? What is she thinking? Might as well go act with it_

"You are right, Mikan-chan_._" Natsume said in a cute and sweet voice. _Did I just said that? This is a nightmare._

"I-I can't imagine, Natsume- Waah! I think I'm insane, please tell me this is a nightmare." Luna looking horrified. _Well, I'm not buying it, Natsume Hyuuga mark my words,I will find the truth and I will not give up on you nor give you to another woman. I will do anything just to make you mine._ Luna left the two.

"Haha! Natsume? I can't imagine." Mikan burst out laughing holding her stomach.

"Urusai." Natsume hitted her head with the manga.

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><p>"Hotaru, what are you doing there?"<p>

Mikan saw many pictures with Ruka on the table.

"That's many. Are you blackmailing Ruka again? ...Ohh, What's this?"

Mikan saw a picture with Ruka half-naked.

**BAKAN! BAKAN! BAKAN!**

"Ouch, Hotaru that hurts. Don't tell me you are keeping pictures of Ruka-pyon just for yourself!"

"Baka, I have to print millions of copies of that. I'm sure that will be my best-seller for the week." Hotaru's violet eyes turned into money signs.

"You know, you and Ruka can be a good match, if you are a couple I'll even give you my blessings."

"Do you wanna die?" Hotaru gave her a death glare.

Mikan nervously laughed.

"Okay okay, You are coming at the celebration next Saturday, right?"

Hotaru rolled her eyes, "As if I have a choice."

"Yup, and don't forget to wear formal clothes, knowing you, you'll probably wear casual." Hotaru just rolled her eyes.

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><p><em>Somewhere…<em>

"Grr, seeing Luna clinging to _my_ Natsume makes my blood boil!" Sumire banging her fist in the table.

"Ahem." Koko trying to get Sumire's attention

"Oops, sorry my, love I was just joking. You are my only one." Sumire replied to her boyfriend, Koko.

"Urggh." Everyone rolled their eyes in disgust.

"What are we here anyways?" Anna asked.

"You better make it reasonable we are here, or else." Hotaru brought her Baka gun and pointed it to Sumire.

Yuu yawned."Yeah, you woke us in the middle of the night."

"O-okay, so, all of you are part of the "Make love perfect" group and you have no choice but to be part of it, we will make Natsume and Mikan to confess their feeling for each other." Sumire announced to everybody.

"The name of the group sucks."

"Yeah, is there another name that's more unique and more interesting?"

"Shut up all of you, don't mind the name of the group. As I have said earlier, Our main objective is to make Mikan and Natsume confess their feelings for each other."

"Why do we need to do that? Let them be." Nonoko from the back, suggested.

"No. They need some "realization." And remember, Luna Koizumi on the way?" Sumire rolling her eyes.

"Okay, I'm in." Nonoko while throwing her hands in the air in defeat.

"I'm in as long as Sumire is here." Koko smirking at Sumire while Sumire returned it by blowing a kiss to him while everyone groaned in disgust.

"In." Anna while flipping a page at her magazine.

"Yeah, I think the two seriously needs some "Realization." Ruka while petting his rabbit.

"I agree." Yuu while fixing his eyeglasses.

Only one did not respond, Hotaru, Sumire noticed this and turned to her "Imai?"

_Silence…_

"I take that as a yes."

"So, what's the plan?" Nonoko asked.

"Plan 1, we need to keep Luna away from Natsume and the fun part is, we will try to annoy Luna."

"How?"

"Maybe putting some worms in her backpack or putting marbles in the floor when she's alone."

"Oooh, interesting."

"We also need to convince Youichi, Natsume's younger brother, to join us, and Ruka, You are in charge for that."

"Why me?"

"Because you know Youichi very well. We tried to convince him but as usual, he ignored us."

"Yeah, like a mini Natsume. He gives me the creeps."

"Alright, alright." throwing his hands in the air.

"Okay, this meeting is over."

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><p>Luna is walking along the corridor, suddenly she overheard what the passing group of people are talking about.<p>

"Hey did you know? Mikan Sakura's father is a thief, and her mother is in jail. I don't even know why she is here in Alice Academy."

"Really? Then she sure plays dirty, I mean, why would she enter here in Alice Academy? Her father as a thief can't make her enter here in Alice Academy."

"Maybe she used Natsume Hyuuga in entering here."

_Some dirt on Mikan Sakura, huh? You are definitely dead by tomorrow, you are messing with my Natsume. _Luna thought to herself_. _And with that enough eavesdropping, she left. But she didn't hear what the other girl had said.

"Stop it you two. That's all rumors. I even heard that her true name is Mikan Yukihara. She changed it because she thinks that the media is an eyesore. You know, being a Yukihara isn't easy. You probably can't walk in the street without bodyguards."

"Oh my gosh, Really? She is one lucky girl. I'm taking back what I had said earlier."

"And I even heard that her parents will introduce her to the public in the upcoming Centennial Celebration of the Yukihara Corporation."

".GOSH. Is that Luna Koizumi? The one that claims that she is the fiancé of Natsume Hyuuga? Urgh, the nerve! We should probably leave. And I hope that she didn't hear what we are talking about."

_Sometimes, when eavesdropping, you should hear the whole story, not leave halfway. _


	3. Villains

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Gakuen Alice.

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><p><strong>Heir, Heiress<strong>

**Chapter 3: People should be treated Fair and Square.**

**By: Yshii**

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><p><em>At Luna koizumi's Place…<em>

"Daddy, I want you to convince Mikan Sakura to stay away from _my_ Natsume." Walking towards the table of his father.

"Why?" Mr. Koizumi's face looking up to look in his daughter's eyes.

"They are getting closer, if this continues, we can't convince his parents to marry me and of course, dealing with the Hyuuga Corporation."

"I should take a research on her."

Luna sighed. "Thank you, daddy." _Hahaha! Get ready, bitch!_

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><p><em>At Alice Academy…<em>

Someone entered the classroom and requested,

"Jinno-sensei, can I excuse Mikan Sakura for a little moment?"

"Sure, but make it quick."

Mikan stood up and exited the classroom.

They went to a room, probably the meeting room. The man who called her out of the classroom gave her a signal to sit and then left, At the opposite of her seat is a man in his mid-forties with his hands together below his chin.

"By any chance, are you Mr, Koizumi, father of Luna Koizumi?" Mikan asked. She knew him because last night she was told by her parents who are attending the anniversary.

"I searched informations about you, surprisingly, you have no data by the name of Mikan Sakkura. Just, who are you? Are you fake? A spy? A undercover agent? Or worse, a ninja?" Mikan sweatdropped at this.

"Forget that, I have one request, Can you avoid Natsume Hyuuga for the sake of my daughter? We are planning to engage Natsume Hyuuga to my daughter, Luna Koizumi. And it's settled."

"Engagement?" Mikan's eyes widened. Mr. Koizumi nodded.

"To simplify it, Luna is Natsume's fiancé. And Natsume is Luna's fiancé."

Mikan looked at the floor, her head is throbbing at the sudden news.

"You know, you should go back to your room, you don't look well." Mr. Hyuuga suggested.

"No, I'm perfectly fine, sir."

"Is that so? Remember, Natsume is Luna's fiancé. I think that Natsume has a liking on you, I don't know why, with a poor girl like you, you can disgrace the Hyuuga family. You don't want to be treated like trash, don't you? You don't even match Hyuuga's status! Such a disgrace. You should probably thank me to remind you such a fact, it seems that you don't even know your position in the society. People like you are low class. You should be thankful enough that you entered such a prestigious school like Alice Academy. Pfft, such a waste, to even think that people can allow low class people in this type of school, it can even tint the school's reputation! People this days. tsk tsk." Mr. Koizumi said without even caring that he hurted the girl's feelings.

"Excuse me, sir, but who are you to say that low class people are a disgrace? You are so full of yourselves! You act so high and mighty, yes, you have the riches and power, but can it last long? With that attitude of yours, I think not. And to even think that you are the CEO of the Koizumi Corporation, I pity the employees who work for you. If you dare treat people trash without the fame and fortune and worship people that have those, I think you should probably say goodbye to being the CEO of the Koizumi Corporation. That corporation of yours was just saved by the Yukihara Corporation! And to even think that they helped you, don't think so high and mighty Mr, Koizumi, or else karma will come knocking on your door." Mikan was fuming with anger, she clenched her fists until it turns white. This is the first time somebody said that to her, she hates it. Mikan thinks that all people should be treated fair and square. Mr, Koizumi was shocked. After Mikan calmed down, she realized her sudden outburst, she _almost,_ blew her cover.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Koizumi." Mikan bowed and left.

Mr. Koizumi was left there dumbfounded.

_Just, who are you?_

* * *

><p>"Mikan, are you alright? You look a little pale." Anna came to her.<p>

"No, it's nothing really. I just felt a little dizzy." Mikan replied.

"No, you are not alright. We should take you to the clinic." Nonoko assisted Mikan.

When Mikan is just about to leave, someone called her and,

"MIKAN SAKURA!"

Mikan turned her head where the voice is coming from, it was Luna. _Oh, great joy. A few moments, it's the father, and now, the daughter?_

"STOP RIGHT THERE WE NEED TO TALK."

"No, Koizumi this isn't the right time. We should take her to the clinic and-"

"This IS the right time. I have no time to wait. Mikan Sakura, just how long are you going to use Natsume? And I also confirmed that Natsume isn't gay which means you are lying!" Luna uttered in a very mad tone.

"Koizumi-san, please stop." Yuu requested and stood between the two girls but his attempt is useless because he is pushed by Luna.

"You lied because you want Natsume to be only yours! You are selfish! Come on, drop the innocent girl act, I know that you are just using him to enter this Academy."

_This bitch is getting in my nerves! _"It was for his own good, because I know, that we all know, that he hates you, Why don't you wake up to reality? You just pushed yourself to Natsume."

"I know that so I will do anything to make him mine! I know that Natsume will learn to love me. I have everything that he wants, I have the looks and the money, and you, you are just a poor girl with nothing!"

"Please Koizumi-san, stop this, Mikan-chan is not in the condition to talk to you, leave her alone." Nonoko defended, but Luna ignored her.

"If you will try to flirt with Natsume, It will make things worse."

"Oh, I thought it was you."

"Bitch!" Luna is easy to be irritated. So without thinking, she raised her hand to slap Mikan.

**Mikan's POV**

"Bitch!" _Luna said, she raised her right hand to slap me, I closed my eyes to wait for the impact, five seconds, what happened? Is she giving up? I opened my eyes and I saw that Natsume stopped her, Wait, Natsume? Since when did he arrived here?__Uh oh, I felt like crying, and I don't know why. I must leave this place to prevent them from seeing me crying. Thank God I'm close to the door. __When I left the room, I heard my friends calling for me, I think they followed me out, no choice but to run, but I felt that I have no energy to run anymore, and I also felt that everything is going black… not now please, not now._

_**-END OF POV-**_

**Anna's POV**

_Koizumi-san is going to slap Mikan-chan, Oh no! I must stop her, but before I could stop her, Natsume-kun came to the rescue, Oh, thank goodness, but what's this? I think Mikan-chan is leaving, but she's sick! Who knows what will happen? I followed her out of the room, I also noticed that the others followed her too, I called her, but she ran… before we caught up with her, she fainted! I shook her shoulders and asked, "Mikan-chan, are you alright? Mikan-chan!" I checked her temperature, she has a high fever! This is bad! "Let's take her to the clinic!" I shouted. Natsume-kun carried her and went to the clinic, we also followed too, I hope she will be alright._

_**-END OF POV-**_

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><p><em>In the school clinic…<em>

"That Luna is going too far." Sumire is fuming with anger.

"Urgghh." Mikan murmured.

"She's awake." Yuu helped Mikan to sit.

"Look Permy, you are so loud that Mikan woke." Koko said

"I'm not, dimwit!" Sumire shouted and smacked Koko in the head.

"Guys, stop that."

"Mikan, Are you okay?" Nonoko asked with a worried expression. Mikan nodded.

"What happened?"

"Natsume carried you here, Thank goodness you are okay now, your fever seems to be going down." Ruka replied.

"Well, is that so, Thank you Natsume." Mikan smiled at Natsume.

"Hn." Natsume replied.

What time is it?" Mikan asked.

"It's 2:58 in the afternoon. Thank goodness Narumi-sensei just gave us free time."

"You know guys, go home now, I'm okay here, I'll just call my parents." Mikan said to her friends.

"Are you sure Mikan-chan?"

"Yup, I will just rest at the house."

"Baka, I will come with you." Hotaru said.

"Aw, Hotaruu! I knew it! you cared for me!"

"No, I will be coming there because auntie promised me crab brains." Everyone sweatdropped.

"Well Mikan-chan I hope that you will be okay." Everyone left the clinic.

"Okay, Mikan, Why did you ran away earlier?" Hotaru asked.

"I'll explain later at the house, my mind is a little bit dizzy. I can't think right."

"If that's what you want. Your butler is waiting at the gates, we should get going now."

"Okay."

* * *

><p>"We should give Luna a lesson." Koko grinned.<p>

"I think that's not a bad idea." Kitsuneme also grinned.

"That's bad you know, All that she had to do is slap Mikan, which she failed. I'm sure that she will learn." Yuu adjusted his glasses.

"That's a good idea, besides, we all agreed that we will prank Luna." Sumire said completely ignoring Yuu's statement.

"Yosh! Tomorrow at school, 5 am." Kitsuneme commanded.

"Are you crazy? That's very early!" Anna shouted.

"You know that's late, we need to assemble things for the pranks."

"Pranks? As in Plural?" Ruka said.

"Uh huh!"

"I forgot, Koko and Kitsuneme are the experts at pranks."

"So, Tomorrow 5 am at school?"

"Deal." Everyone shouted.

"I hope this will end well." Yuu said.

"Don't worry inchou, leave it to us." Koko tried to calm Yuu.

_And that's why I'm worried. You are one of the troublemakers of the school._ Yuu thought.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Is that Mikan? And she is with Imai too." Ruka pointed towards the gate. Natsume turned to where Ruka is pointing.<p>

A limousine arrived in front of Mikan and Hotaru and surprisingly followed by Natsume's and Ruka's limousines but with a little bit of distance.

A woman in her mid-forties with a brown shoulder length hair with thick sunglasses, a scarf around her neck, and a long coat which covered her whole body making her look hideous got out from the limousine in front of Mikan and Hotaru and hugged them both. Mikan looks confused while Hotaru puts her rare smile.

"Who is that?" Ruka asked. Natsume just shrugged.

Mikan and Hotaru and the woman got in the limousine.

"Hey, Ruka, you can stay at my house." Natsume said.

"Okay, but I have to inform my parents first."

"Just inform your driver we have to get going." Natsume dragged Ruka in his limousine.

"Follow that limousine." Natsume pointed to where Mikan, Hotaru and the woman's limousine was and send his driver a _follow-what-I'm-saying-or-you'll-be-fired_ glare. Scared to be fired, he followed his order.

"What are you doing, Natsume? You aren't thinking of following Mikan and Imai right?" Ruka asked. Natsume smirked which send chills on Ruka's spine.

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><p><strong>A.N:<strong> I'm sorry I'm not good at making person's POVS. I'm sorry I updated late. Writer's block going on for a few days. :) Thanks for the reviews! It helps me cure writer's block. :D


	4. Pranksters

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Gakuen Alice.

* * *

><p><strong>Heir, Heiress<strong>

**Chapter 4:** Pranksters

* * *

><p>Hotaru and Yuka noticed that the driver keeps on glancing in the side mirror.<p>

"What's wrong, Hijiro-san?" Yuka asked.

"It looks like the limousine at our back is following us." Yuka, Hotaru and Mikan turned to look at the back to confirm what he said.

"Hey, is that the limousine back at school?" Mikan noticed.

Hotaru's eyes turned into slits after she saw the limousine's plate number. "Hyuuga." Hotaru hissed then smirked. _I thought Natsume Hyuuga is considered as a 'genius'?_

One basic rule in snooping around: Don't get yourself caught.

Once again, Natsume wasn't the one that was driving. At least his driver made it easy.

Mikan looked at her best friend. "Why are you blurting out Natsume's surname all of a sudden?"

Hotaru glanced at her. Honestly, could she get any dumber? How did she got a stupid best friend, anyways? "Idiot, that's the Hyuuga's limousine."

"Oh." Then, slowly, realization dawned upon her. "WHAT?" Yuka jumped from her seat due to Mikan's sudden outburst. She clearly has a problem in keeping her voice down.

"Honey, that's very unladylike." Yuka look fiercely at her daughter. Mikan just scratched her head and muttered an apology.

"But, why are we followed? Natsume's in there, right?"

"Busybodies." Hotaru muttered.

"They must have seen us at the entrance gate."

Mikan curiously looked at them and started blurting her deduction. "Why would they follow us? It was common sense for them to think that my mother is your aunt or something. Then I came with you because I'm your best friend that was innocently invited over to your house. Besides, our house is near to your house. What good would it be if they followed us around?"

Yuka and Hotaru had to raise their eyebrows at her. Since when did Mikan become this… observant? "Nice to know you decided to grow a brain, Mikan." Hotaru teasingly replied. Although inside, she was thinking the same thing.

Her best friend just pouted. "Mou, Hotaru you're a meanie." She decided to be quiet for now. Truthfully, she successfully surprised the two because of her statement earlier. She was always oblivious to her surroundings or simply she chose not to care about it.

"What reason they might have, we have to lose track of them. Hijiro-san, you know what to do." Yuka calmly ordered. The mentioned person just nodded in reply.

The limousine suddenly went fast that Mikan stumbled from her seat without warning.

Yuka looked at her. "Honey, stop being clumsy or else you'll definitely take proper etiquette lessons that you hate to have."

Mikan looked horrified. No way is she going to have that lesson! It was so hard learning the basics! What more of the hard ones?

"No, mom! Anything but that! Please! I promise to act properly this time." She looked at her mother who was still gracefully seated on her seat, even if the limo is swerving from left to right fast that Mikan could be gagging anytime now, but she hold it in. Her mother's going to kill her if she stained their precious car. Curse Natsume for sticking his nose out of people's business.

Her mother just nodded. "Good. Because if you broke your promise…" She left it hanging there, because there is so much she could do, even if it's her own daughter. There's so much about Yuka Azumi Yukihara you don't know about.

Mikan nodded vigorously. She doesn't want to get to her mother's bad side. She knows from the hard way that her mother's wicked when she's upset.

Hotaru looked at the two. It doesn't fail to amuse her whenever they had times like this, although she heard this conversation many times before. Yes, that means Yuka keeps on threatening Mikan, Mikan pleading to go against whatever her mother said, Yuka threatening her daughter again, although she didn't witness what motherly Yuka would do to her daughter on her broken promises. (That means she didn't actually do anything.)

Finally, after a few minutes of being tossed around by how fast the limo went, the limo went into a steady pace. "We lost them ma'am."

"To the mansion." Yuka nodded.

"Yes Ma'am."

* * *

><p>"We lo-lost them, yo-young master." Natsume's driver informed.<p>

Natsume glared at him that intimidated the poor driver. "House. Now." He ordered grimly.

The driver couldn't agree more. One more look from the young master and he will have no choice but to leave the car unattended. He would not care less if he didn't receive his salary. He would love to be anywhere just not with him. The kid's too terrifying to be with.

Natsume sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. Obviously, he was pissed and frustrated. Pissed that he didn't get what he wanted to learn and frustrated that he was outsmarted by whoever was riding that limousine. His driver was no good. He didn't even catch up with the speed of the other limousine. And to think that their limousine has a speed equivalent to an average race car…

"What are you thinking of following them, Natsume? It must be Imai's aunt or someone related to them." Ruka asked worriedly at his best friend.

Natsume looked at him. "It's just…" He shook his head. "Never mind."

* * *

><p>Yuka took a large intake of breath. Dropping the bomb was much harder than she thinks.<p>

She sighed again and looked at the curious faces of her daughter, and the other girl who she treated like a daughter. "Do you know Reo Mouri?"

Hotaru nodded. "He was the one who tried to kidnap Mikan. Although Mikan doesn't quite remember that incident yet, I still remembered it vaguely."

"Good thing you were there with your bodyguards or else he would've kidnapped Mikan successfully." Mikan just looked at them curiously but decided to keep quiet.

"Well, he escaped from prison. If you didn't quite know it yet, he is on the move again to steal the Azumi heirloom necklace, the one that was passed down from generations to generations to the first-born child of the Azumi clan. He was last seen at Osaka last Tuesday, although we don't know what day or time he would be going here in Tokyo. The police are doing their best to track him down."

Yuka sighed again for the nth time that day. The situation at hand now is getting serious. "He also knew that the Yukihara family has a daughter although she doesn't know who she exactly is. Reo also know that the daughter has the necklace." She glanced to Mikan. "Close family and friends just know this kind of information so we don't know how Reo got that fact."

"So, Mikan is in danger. Sooner or later Reo can get the information he needs."

"Most likely. If we will send persons to guard Mikan then that would be suspicious. As we all know, this coming Saturday will be the centennial celebration of the company. My husband and I planned to introduce Mikan to the media as our daughter. With Reo around, we have to cancel that. Although that plan will be cancelled, Mikan could attend with the help of you, Hotaru, we can't lose sight of Mikan, so, Hotaru, will you help us?" Although Hotaru is still at high school, she was mature for her age. Yuka is confident that Hotaru could handle this. After all, Hotaru Imai is as sly as a fox, sharp like tact, quick like a thunder.

Hotaru smirked. "Gladly," Yuka was about to thank her when her next statement made her chuckle.

"With a price, of course." Yuka shook her head. Hotaru would be Hotaru.

* * *

><p>'<em>One more violation and we'll totally kick your ass, literally.'<em>

_**P.S. Get ready to dig your own grave because you'll violate anyways.**_

Luna read the note that was placed at her locker. Not knowing what she violated and what PNKSTRS meant, she decided to crumple it and throw it into the trash bin. She then proceeded to walk to her classroom.

Looking around to find her favorite victim, a juice in her hand, she proceeded to her victim's table and 'accidentally' faltered at her balance that resulted for her juice to spill out at her victim. Laughter resounded at the classroom.

"Oops, sorry. I… 'tripped'." Luna said with a sense of mockery in her voice. It was obvious she wasn't sincere to her words, either. The laughter got louder at that.

Mikan wiped the juice that was dripping at her face by using her arms and slowly lifted her head to face Luna to smile at her, assuring that it was fine. She was completely unaware that the 'accident' intentional. "It's okay. I'll just change." She stood up and left the classroom.

Luna stared angrily at her retreating back and gritted her teeth; she was supposed to feel miserable! She is acting like a damn saint when she clearly is not! Guess that means she has to take her bullying at the next level.

She sat at her seat, contemplating on how to make the Sakura girl in a depressed state when she suddenly noticed she was missing something. Her disgusting loyal friends didn't stand up for her. They were supposed to shout their heads off at her, yet she received nothing. Even a glare or perhaps a brief glance wasn't send at her.

Could it be they had given up on her? She took a peek at her favorite victim's friends. They were giving off daunting auras, as if one touch from them you'll die. They seem like they're restricting themselves from doing _something_.

Something that involves blood and her, Luna.

Even if Luna isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, she knows they are out to kill her. Whether figuratively or literally. Or whether emotionally scarring her or dead set killing her.

* * *

><p>Luna was walking down the hallway when something splashed her whole body. She looked down at her uniform.<p>

It was wet, and the liquid was still dripping from her uniform. And what's worse, it has a funny smell to it.

She was drenched from head to toe. Good thing she has a spare uniform at her locker.

First, she has to worry about the humiliation she would get, her locker is at the other side of the hallway she was at.

People started to point at her, others jeering at her, or whispering to each other.

She couldn't take the humiliation anymore, and with that thought running in her mind, she ran as fast as she can to get to her locker. She didn't bother to look who was the one responsible to this, she was too busy to think about her state.

Two shadows emerged from the hallways, looking at Luna's retreating back, then high-fived each other. "Good job, man." The dirty blonde haired said to his awfully similar companion, but the only difference is, his eyes turned into slits.

* * *

><p>Luna Koizumi was fuming mad when she reached her locker, her aura clearly saying 'Back off'. She forcefully opened her locker as if it was the one at fault she was at this predicament. She looked around her locker disbelievingly when she didn't found her spare uniform. She screamed like a banshee when she realized this. When she gets her hands on who did this, there will be hell to pay…<p>

She shoved her hand to her pocket to find her phone to call one of the maids to their mansion, when suddenly, her eyes widened. She took out her phone and checked if it was all right, hoping that the liquid didn't destroyed her phone. She let out a sigh of relief when she realized it's working perfectly. She dialed something on her phone and put it in her ear.

"Hikari, fetch my spare uniform at my room and get here at school. ASAP. NOW!" Then she ended the call. She decided to wait at the bathroom; she doesn't want further humiliation.

Then, as what happened earlier, two people emerged from the shadows.

"We could've destroyed her phone, you know. Then she will be more miserable walking like that in school." The first person said, although the shadows were preventing them to be seen, her hair showed a little bit when she shifted, Indigo.

"True. But I felt an ounce of pity on her at the last minute. And besides, this is just a little compared to what Hotaru-chan would do to her." The second person replied, a glimpse of hair that appeared to be pink, showed.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>I'm sorry if I haven't updated this story for months. I was procrastinating every day. Every time I would think to update, I always think 'Maybe later', then the idea would slip out of me. The reason that I updated was because of the review. You don't know how much it made my day, and then I suddenly felt the urge to update.

Before I know it, I finished it just one day. Can you believe that? It was a big achievement for me. (Hahaha, I'm a big slave of procrastination. Good thing it gave me a day-off, though.)

Sorry, if there are mistakes. I didn't double checked everything. I was rushing time was my only enemy. Hopefully, you enjoy this chapter. I would've go on if it wasn't four in the morning. I'm sleepy and tired. *Yawns*

Tell me, what your opinions about this chapter are. Go ahead, tell me what I'm lacking, or when I have mistakes throughout this fic so that I could fix them as possibly as I could. Constructive criticisms are allowed, after all, it'll help me become a better author in the future. :)


	5. All Out

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Gakuen Alice or its characters.

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><p><strong>Heir, Heiress<strong>

**Chapter 5: **All Out

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><p>"A—are you sure about this, Ruka-kun? I mean we could get caught doing this, a―and I have a reputation to keep—"<p>

Ruka sighed. "Well think about this scenario, Iinchou. If we didn't do this, we would surely get something from Imai-san. And it isn't good news coming from the boy she frequently blackmails." He said to him then went back to what he was doing.

Yuu can't do anything but watch. Even though he is the class president together with Hotaru, she somehow overpowers him. With her intimidating aura, she is known in Alice Academy as a notorious blackmailing student who knows every bits and pieces about students, and even faculty members in the school.

Ruka finished his work and sighed in relief; relief that he wasn't caught. Then again, if Hotaru Imai was the one who thought of this, who does all her works perfectly, nothing could go wrong. He could only look at his 'work' in pity.

* * *

><p>Luna woke up from her deep slumber and yawned.<p>

_Now that's called a nap._

She slept at the clinic after she drank her orange juice that has a funny taste; nevertheless, she drank it all. She missed her P.E. class with the excuse that her head hurts, but in actuality, she was feeling drowsy.

She looked at the clock that was hanging at the wall. Her last class for the day was just starting. She got up from the bed and proceeded to her classroom.

The hallway was empty since class was on going. She opened her classroom's door. Nothing was interesting when…

"Koizumi-san, what happened to your face?" Her teacher said while stifling a laugh. Luna just looked at him confusedly. Suddenly, her classmates laughed aloud. The teacher coughed to prevent from laughing.

"S—stop laughing, class." He stammered out, still not recovering from the image of Luna's face. Luna got even more confused. What is happening?

The class managed to stop their laughter with a few giggles here and there.

A pitying girl classmate of hers gave her a mirror to see for herself what was happening around her.

She looked at her face, when she did, her eyes widened, her face showing pure horror. Big, black circles surrounded her eyes; her lips were blotched with a red color that she was sure that it wasn't lipstick.

That wasn't all, her forehead was written with words that said, 'I am a snobby, spoiled brat and is overly obsessed over Natsume.'

This cannot be happening.

She shrieked and ran out of the classroom, faintly hearing the laughter of her classmates once again. She proceeded to the bathroom rubbing her skin hard to wash off the annoying stains in her face. Unfortunately for her, it wouldn't wash with water easily.

She gave up on washing it off and raised her head to look at her reflection; the situation turned worse for her because she could clearly see the stains in her face.

Tears were freely falling from her face but she furiously wiped them off.

_No, I can't show them my weakness._

* * *

><p>Luna wouldn't have attended school today if she wasn't tough, or at least acting tough.<p>

Acting tough about what happened yesterday, she was continuously prank and bullied these past days. She barely survived all of that. No sane person could have been completely normal after all of that, but this is Luna Koizumi we are talking about. It would take rocks to rain on earth majestically from above to break this girl apart. At least that's what everyone thinks.

However, could she survive the impending doom waiting for her at Alice Academy?

She opened the Academy's humongous double doors and was greeted by the sight of her pictures posted everywhere. She looked at one particular photo; her legs were spread widely apart, showing her panties for everyone to see. She looked at other pictures; all of it featured her showing her undergarments. She doesn't remember taking any pictures of that. It was taken by someone at different angles, making it look like she was willing to take pictures of her undergarments. She silently cursed miniskirts.

People started to give her dirty looks; others even started murmuring behind her back when she perfectly could hear them.

"_Oh gosh, she even has the guts to attend school today…"_

"_My my, she's so shameless…"_

"_Hey, is that the one who—"_

"_Don't say anything, my father works at her parents' company…"_

"_Slut…"_

Now that last one hit a nerve. She angrily tore a picture nearby a wall and cursed whoever did this.

She proceeded to her classroom, ignoring the looks sent to her and slammed the door open with an infuriated look on her face. Who wouldn't if your embarrassing photos at different angles were posted in all places you could consider post-able?

Well, she had a very good guess on who was the culprit.

Luna pointed a finger at Hotaru; in return, she merely raised a brow. "You merciless, purple-eyed monster! You did this all, didn't you? What did your parents thought when they had you?"

Gasps.

Oh she did not.

But she did.

Hotaru stood up from her seat and left the classroom, not before giving Luna an evil and mischievous stare, her aura was daunting anyone to come near her.

She didn't know, what Hotaru did was supposed to be the last of the pranks that were done to her, but it looks like little miss Luna Koizumi wants more.

And it wasn't about her bullying Mikan, this time it's about Hotaru.

Brace yourself Luna Koizumi because This. Is. War.

* * *

><p>Never, EVER, touchbad mouth/talk back Hotaru Imai, her family and precious people close to her, especially the brunette best friend.

Because when that happens, you'll be begging, not for your life to be spared but begging for her to kill you immediately, to end the heartless torture she'll be doing to you.

And I wasn't talking about physically.

What more if she decided to be sadistic and take up the job to be a serial killer instead?

There were barely alive persons who got out from the worst torture Hotaru Imai could ever give you, some even committed suicide because they couldn't take it anymore.

I wasn't exaggerating about that part, either.

This all happens when you cross Hotaru Imai's line. Or when you piss her off big time, or when you test her patience, or when you decided to be ignorant and tell Hotaru straight out that she is a merciless, purple-eyed monster that doesn't have a care about the world.

Ordinary people just did the first two, but _someone_ did all above.

Who would say that to her?

Or, to rephrase the question, what insane person decided to ask (Unintentionally, of course.) to take her life away from a _little_ help from Hotaru Imai?

Luna Koizumi would.

And the next thing you know, hell came to the earth.

For Luna, that is.

Hotaru Imai may not give a damn in everything you do, but when it concerns her family, her friends and most of all, herself, she does.

* * *

><p>Mikan was walking in the school's corridor running an errand from her teacher when she caught sight of Natsume; he was going at her direction. She was just going to greet him when suddenly he grabbed her arm. "Na-Natsume?" She looked at him curiously.<p>

"Mikan—" Natsume gazed at her intently as if assessing her then shook his head and let go of her arm. "Never mind." He put his hands on his pockets and walked away.

Mikan watched his back slowly retreating. What was that all about?

Come to think about it, he called her by her first name! What's up with him? He's been acting weird lately.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> This chapter focuses on Hotaru Imai. I love how cruel she is to Ruka at the stories I read here in fanfiction. I recently read a story about how a group of girls beaten up Mikan out of jealousy because of Natsume. Being the good friend she is, she said to a teacher that she would be the one doing the punishment to the girls. When Mikan said that there was more than the girls did to her, she thought that her punishment wasn't enough. By the way, her punishment she did to those girls made them to be confined to the hospital for three months. She was brutal and I was grinning. I was thinking the whole time, 'Good job, Hotaru.' I forgot the story's title, though.

If Hotaru would be living as a real human living in the face of the earth, that would be scary, don't you think?


	6. Musings

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Gakuen Alice or its characters.

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><p><strong>Heir, Heiress<strong>

**Chapter 6:** Unhealthy Musings

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><p>Luna Koizumi stared at the cherry blossom leaves that are green considering that it's summer. She sighed for the umpteenth time. She never really felt humiliated ever in her fourteen years of living in earth.<p>

Sure, she was humiliated before, but not to the extent that she felt like packing her things and move to the other side of the world.

Instead of lashing out and telling her father who insulted or humiliated her, _like she always did_, she acted more maturely than usual. After all, it was her fault why her classmates acted coldly towards her.

But this, this has gone too far.

Hiding her clothes? Covering her face with wall paint? Did they seriously think her face is a wall?

Then the worst prank she ever experienced, scattering her embarrassing (stolen) photos all over the school.

The bullying was even worse here in Alice Academy than the school she went abroad!

She knows her attitude towards her schoolmates was insufferable, hell; even she herself hated how she acted.

But unknown to them, she was just doing those things to get their attention. She was so pressured at home. Her father always expecting the best from her, and then there's her mother, expecting her to marry to a wealthy man.

She never really liked that Natsume guy. Sure, he's strikingly appealing, born with a silver spoon in his mouth, a natural born genius that slacks off but gets the high marks anyways, girls that kiss the ground he walks on and everything that every mother, even her own mother, dreamt of their daughters marrying, except for the fact that Natsume acts like a jerk, of course. That is one of the facts that mothers missed.

Luna scoffed; if her mother was so animated about it then she should go marry Natsume instead, if only she didn't love her father…

_Love._

She wonders, how would it feel to feel love, to be loved? She never really did felt loved by her parents. In her parents' eyes, she was just an heiress, inheriting their fortunes. To live up to their names and keep the Koizumi name going.

She was never the 'daughter'; she is always the 'heiress', 'future CEO of Koizumi Corporation'. She will not be the 'daughter' and never will. It was like an unspoken rule whenever you are in the business world or the Koizumi household, or at least that is what she feels.

She doesn't love Natsume moreover liking him. Okay, she admitted, she was physically attracted to him, just _slight_, okay, a **lot**. But not that much that could lead her daydreaming about them kissing (Actually, she dreamt of him kissing her when she stared at his face for a long time without him noticing) or planning their wedding like fan girls would do.

Or-or worse, dreaming to have babies with him. She shuddered at that thought.

It was all for her parents' satisfactions.

It was always for them.

She ventured all her pent-up frustrations to other people by bullying people who are probably like her, weak-willed people. In Luna's case, she masked her insecurities well and put them behind her façade that she's strong and a force to be reckoned with.

Yes, she was the bratty, snobby Luna when she's outside, but when she's alone, those qualities that people think she is, is put aside, and the real, unfeigned Luna is shown.

They didn't know, she was crying inside. Behind Luna's mask that people would describe as scornful and intolerable, is Luna, Asking, begging for affection. Hoping for someone out there could see right through her façade.

She once contemplated suicide, but decided against it.

Life is too valuable, but with her, it's meaningless.

What's out there that could make it significant to her?

Clothes? She has many of them. Maybe when she gets new clothes she'll be satisfied, but not satisfied long enough. She'll just get bored of them anyways after a week or so.

Money? Her family's loaded, and she doesn't use them much aside from buying branded clothes, but then again, she was getting bored of them.

Luxury? Their famous Japanese-themed restaurant, which is one of the Koizumi Corporation's businesses, aside from their hospitals and beauty care products, has eight branches throughout Asia and five branches from other countries. But she wasn't even slightly interested at taking over her parents' business.

They have two mansions, one villa at the countryside that she loathed going to and three condominiums at the focal point of Japan. However, do you want to live in a castle-like mansion if it was void of having a 'homey' feeling to it?

And besides, who would want to live in a mansion that has a ten-minute trip to the bathroom?

Friends? Sure, she has 'friends' but the question is, are they really true friends? Did they comfort her when she was in trouble? No. Is there one of her friends that she poured her hidden and locked feelings? No, much less to have a decent conversation with them.

She was humiliated, embarrassed in front of everyone and still, her so-called 'friends' didn't dare show up their faces and defend her or at least helped her in some sort.

Then, her train of thoughts went to the source of the problem.

_'That Sakura brat. She doesn't deserve to be loved. What did they see to her that she have many friends?' _She mused.

(She was really at fault at what happened to her. She was just in the state of denial… and was just green with envy.)

Sakura Mikan may not have the luxuries of the world, but she has something valuable, that even Luna, who was grown pampered, got jealous of.

It was to have kind-hearted, sincere friends.

They would not prank her if she tormented their overly enthusiastic and optimistic (qualities that Luna scornfully detested) brunette friend.

Did her 'friends' had done something like that to her? Not in a million years.

Boyfriends? She's just fourteen for crying out loud! And if she wants one, she could get it with a snap of her fingers. Besides, who would need them if she wasn't even feeling the word, 'love'?

People would say she doesn't know anything, that she's too young and doesn't fully understand and grasp the concept of how life is important.

Her eyes trailed from the window to her posh table that has intricate designs at its feet. There lays her breakfast, with two fried eggs at the middle and two fried bacons each at its side. (Served at a highly priced plate with real gold outlining it, of course, she just **_had_** to brag. In fact, she was so bragging about it that the author has to use the bold, italics, and underline simultaneously to fully stress out her point, although we all perfectly know that the author is the one controlling the story.) Then her eyes went to look at the bread knife that was placed neatly beside the fork. Before she knew it, she picked it up with trembling hands and pointed the tip of the knife in her neck. She pushed it up further until blood trickled from her neck to the top of her white sundress.

Her eyes widened when her sanity came back to her. Her eyes welled up tears when she just realized she tried taking her life. She instinctively threw the knife across the room and went to her private bathroom, all the while crying, she hurriedly turned the tap on, filled her palms with water and wet her neck that was profusely bleeding but not that much that would make her faint.

When she was sure that it was not bleeding plentifully, her tears stopped and turned into sobs, she grabbed a roll of gauze and scissors at the first aid kit box put at her bathroom's wall that she didn't know would come in handy.

After three or four unrolling the gauze, she folded it to the size slightly bigger than a pea that gave her a hell lot of bleeding, put it in her wound and taped it. When she was done, she looked at the mirror, her tear-stained face and her white sundress with blotches of blood at the top. A sign that she did something cowardly. Trying to kill herself to end her misery, when in fact, people experienced worse than what she feels right now and still lived on with their lives.

She's wallowing with self-pity. But the best part is, who cares? (Notice the sarcasm?)

A disappointed sigh came from her and undressed herself. She could've laundered it with the maids, but what would happen if they saw it has blood on it? She wouldn't mind if it would reach her parents' ears, they don't care about her anyways. But just to make sure, she tore the dress in pieces and dumped it at the garbage bin.

Sometimes, crying isn't a sign of weakness. It is one of the ways to release the emotions that you were keeping. It's not good to keep all your emotions to yourself because sooner or later, your pent-up emotions will got out of hand, hurting everyone, even yourself, physically and mentally.

Even if she is considered to have a backbone, she is still a human with feelings.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **I dedicated the last chapter to Hotaru, now this one's for Luna.

You don't know how glad I was when I got reviews. I really needed them. I mean, I lost motivation in writing the next chapter, but when I checked my stories, boom, it got reviews!

Thank you so much, reviewers! You don't have to wait longer because I'm currently writing the next chapter. I am so in the mood for writing. :)

And so, like the title for this chapter said, is Luna's musings. (Poor, poor girl, always beaten up) This is just like an extra chapter, so you'll know Luna's situation more. I tweaked the story plot a little because I felt there's not that much going on here.

I felt angsty all of a sudden, maybe because of reading too much fluff.

Forget what I said above, that's me, being a drama queen. And when I'm in my drama queen mode, it means that I was overdosed by chocolates. (CHOCOLATES MY LOVE!)

Seriously, I need to stop eating chocolates. Like what Chang-min (2AM) said, "Too much is as bad as too little." Or something along the lines of that.

Tell me what your opinions about this chapter are. Go ahead, tell me what I'm lacking, or when I have mistakes throughout this fic so that I could fix them as possibly as I could. It's fine if you criticize me, after all, it'll help me become a better author in the future. :)


	7. Peeping Toms

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Gakuen Alice or its characters.

**Author's Note: **Wattpad's SECRETLY MARRIED by forgottenglimmer got me hooked.

Reading SECRETLY MARRIED, I realized I seriously needed a conflict here. This story just keeps on getting boring every time a chapter is finished. ToT

I could have updated earlier, but ffn didn't let me log in.

* * *

><p><strong>Heir, Heiress<strong>

**Chapter 7: **Modern Century Peeping Toms

* * *

><p><strong>Victim number One: <strong>**Ruka Nogi**

Ruka was brushing his rabbit's coat when he noticed something attached on his ear. He looked closer for inspection.

"Hold on, Usagi. Let me take this out." He carefully took it out from the rabbit and examined it. His eyes widened in recognition.

'_So that's why Imai got pictures of me.'_

It was one of the hottest products the Imai Corporation was selling. It was a camera as small as a coin, it was widely known because not only it was tiny, but it also has a clear image. It's famous for police officers who go undercover and also for… perverts which was actually bad news for girls. (Or for boys, if you are as hot as Natsume or Ruka or Cloud from Final Fantasy VII, then you are in for the ride.) He can't do anything about it; Imai Corporation will do all just to earn money. He rolled his eyes at this.

'_Money-hungry freaks…'_

He quickly stopped his train of thoughts. What if his blackmailer created some device that could read other people's minds? As far as he knows, they haven't created something like that. But just in case…

* * *

><p><strong>Victim number Two: <strong>**Mikan Sakura**

Hotaru Imai was walking aimlessly along the corridors of Alice Academy, thinking of numerous schemes that she could think of for that stupid Koizumi when she noticed that her best friend was coming towards her. How can she not notice her? She's been screaming her name repeatedly for crying out loud! What did Mikan think of her? Deaf?

Mikan was bouncing shamelessly towards her like there are no males lingering at the vicinity when Hotaru noticed something.

"Don't move." Hotaru commanded to Mikan when she was close to her.

"Eh?" Mikan could only blurt out. Hotaru flipped her skirt slightly, took out something behind it and examined it closely. It was one of their Corporation's best-selling items. Excellent, their business is doing well…

"What's that?" Mikan looked at the thing that was in her best friend's hand curiously.

"It's a bug with a built-in camera." Hotaru told her calmly. Mikan took the bug out of Hotaru's hand and examined it too.

"So that's why Natsume always know the patterns of my underwear…" She was unbelievably calm about this. But then, the girl has weird mood swings, so she could be considered unpredictable.

Suddenly, Mikan dropped the bug and stomped on it repeatedly, crushing it in the process. "NATSUME!" Mikan immediately shouted the moment the information sunk in her head. Her cheeks were flaming pink due to anger. She suddenly left her best friend, forgetting to hug her to look for her pervert partner at the school.

Hotaru would have told her someone could have put it there, but it would sound like she was defending Natsume. However, when she thought about it deeply, the possibility that Natsume was the one who put it under her skirt was a strong possibility.

She shrugged off that thought and continued on thinking evil ploys concerning Luna Koizumi.

* * *

><p><strong>Victim number Three: <strong>**Luna Koizumi**

"I installed a surveillance camera on your room." That was the first sentence that came from her father's mouth the moment she plopped herself at the chair across his father.

Luna let this information process in her head and when she understood it, she shouted, "Dad, that's so uncalled for! All this time you're watching me dressing up on my room! I can't believe this." She leaned back in her seat, running her hand across her hair due to frustration.

She was supposed to be at school this moment, but she let the incident yesterday to cool down a little before she could show her face again to her schoolmates. Of course, her father didn't know about this, she just said that it was a school holiday.

Also, she also wanted to let the wound heal at her neck. Her father may not have noticed it because she always wears turtleneck blouses. But then, there was a possibility that her father could know about the injury, now that he confessed that he installed a camera in her room.

Her father just shrugged. "You always dress up in your bathroom."

Luna's eyes widened more. "Dad! Didn't you know how wrong that sounds?"

"What?" Her father innocently asked.

"It sounded like you're a pervert. Worst, a Pedophile! This conversation is over."

"Luna—"

"OVER!" Luna yelled. Her father shrunk back in his seat, obeying what she said. Suddenly, realization hit him.

"Wait a minute… I am the parent here! We still have to talk, young lady!" His father scolded her.

Luna sighed and looked at his father's desk. "I'm sorry, dad. It's just that… it's invading my privacy and all. I mean, I'm a girl, and… and you're a grown-up man. Worse, you're my own father."

"You came with my own sperm so there's nothing to worry about."

Luna would have preferred listening to World War two's history than hearing her father say that.

* * *

><p>Hotaru mentally cursed. Can't she get a moment of peace to think about her plans to make the Koizumi brat suffer? Apparently, she can't, first, Mikan, then this. "Imai!" Hotaru didn't need to turn around to find out who it was. She knew very well who would scream her name that wouldn't get terrified to get hit by her infamous gun, besides from Mikan, that is.<p>

"Nogi." She acknowledged and looked stoically at him.

Ruka ungracefully pointed a finger at her, proper etiquette be damned. "I'm so sick of your attitude! You just love to torture me, don't you? Because damn well your doing good at it."

She merely raised a brow, indicating her aroused curiosity, but when she put the pieces together on how did her favorite victim became this feisty, she went back to being emotionless.

"So you finally discovered the camera, huh? About time. Good job for you, Nogi."

He became more enraged in her reply. "You're playing mind games with me again, Imai! I can't really understand you!" It sounded more as if Hotaru expected him to see the camera. He couldn't comprehend on why she had to do this. Was she expecting something from him? If there was, what could it be?

"I couldn't completely decipher on why you are doing this to me. Why, Hotaru? WHY?" He ran his fingers through his hair due to frustration. If he weren't more composed now, he would have pulled his hair in front of Hotaru and the people walking at the corridor.

The latter just recovered from shock when he said her name, but of course, she didn't show her astonishment.

"Figure it out yourself." With a hopeful glance at him, she left him standing alone at the school corridor.

He looked at her retreating back and messed his hair angrily. "Damn girls! I can never understand them!" He muttered darkly.

* * *

><p>Mikan searched every nook and cranny of the school to find Natsume, only to find him sitting at the school's rooftop. Normally, she would have shouted the moment she saw him but seeing the serene look on his face made her think otherwise.<p>

She sat beside him with a bit of distance, she still haven't forgiven him even if he looked cute at his position. She folded her legs just below her chin.

Natsume looked at who dared to sit near him when he realized it's only Mikan. All was ordinary when he noticed that she didn't acknowledge him (or rather shout his name enthusiastically) like she always used to whenever she sees him. Seeing her eyebrows furrowed, her lips marred a pout and how her eyes would twitch more than a nanosecond, he was absolutely sure that she was angry.

And he was also absolutely sure that she found out about the bug.

'_About time.'_ He mused.

"Oi pumpkins, what's wrong with you?" He asked, although he perfectly knew what caused her fury. This was his way to get her to talk.

Her eyes visibly twitched, she instantly remembered the bug that Hotaru found under her skirt. "PERVERT!" She ungracefully pointed a finger at him; in return, he just raised his eyebrow. Didn't she know that it's rude to point fingers at people? On the matter at hand, he wasn't really a pervert; it was just his mother's genes that he unfortunately or fortunately got.

She calmed herself thinking that this will be the last time he'll see her underwear. For some reasons, she can't stay angry with him for a long time. She let her hand fall limply on her knees and puffed her cheeks rather cutely. "You're sixteen and you still act like a preschooler." He retorted.

"Why you—!" She stopped. The situation will get worse if she succumbed on Natsume's teasing antics.

"I could ask the same thing to you, Natsume. You've been acting weird lately." She pushed her knees closer to her chest.

Natsume looked stoically at her. He can't tell her the reason on why he was not himself. He wants to make sure if his suspicions are accurate or not.

In reply to her somewhat question, he said, "Don't worry yourself on simple matters, pumpkins."

"Natsume, when it comes to you, the problem could be big. Either that, or you are just having those mood swings."

He glared at her. "Since when did I have mood swings?" He muttered darkly.

"One minute you are teasing me and then the next you looked mad. It's always like that."

She continued, "When Tono-senpai came at our classroom you looked at me like this," Mikan tried to glare at him, which she failed miserably because she didn't really know how to glare properly. At the end, she just looked adorable. Natsume's lip twitched that looked like he was annoyed, but Mikan didn't know that he was fighting a smile that was threatening to spread across his face. "I didn't do anything wrong to you, but you suddenly went out of the room."

After a moment of silence, he spoke. "It's because his face irks me."

Mikan's eyebrows furrowed. "Why, what's wrong with his face?"

"He's stupid and ugly."

"Tono-senpai is not stupid and ugly! He's uh… fairly smart and he's handsome!"

He looked irritatingly at her. "Don't mention his name whenever I'm around. And do not describe him as 'handsome'." He coldly commanded her. Truth is; he didn't know why seeing that Casanova makes his blood boil. All he knows was that seeing Tono put Mikan in his lap peeved the hell out of him.

"Who are you to say that?"

"Then don't come near me if you want to babble about that annoying Casanova." He folded his arms across his chest.

"Are you sick or something?"

He shook his head then suddenly, he thought of a mischievous plan. "Let me show you how healthy I am." He stood up, unbuttoning his pants all the while smirking. Mikan, on the other hand, have a good guess on what he'll do next, so she stopped him before she could see a male's anatomy in _flesh_.

It really bothered Mikan that Natsume changes his attitude like he changes clothes. He was more tolerable in his 'irritated' mode.

At the process of opening the zipper of his pants, Mikan stood up to stop him, putting her hand to his pants to close the zipper when the door to the rooftop opened. "Natsum—"

Ruka stood up frozen at the door's entrance. He didn't really want to see the scene that was in front of him now. He had a bad day, knowing that Imai took pictures of him secretly by using his rabbit pet made him pissed throughout the morning. Then there was the confusion Hotaru implanted on his mind. So he searched for his best friend for comfort, but no, he just have to see this disturbing sight.

He just had to _walk in_ on them. Or so that's what he thought they were doing.

Mikan looked at where he was looking at. Immediately, she moved her hand away from Natsume's pants and waved her hands frantically. "It's not what you think, Ruka-pyon!" Ruka was so shocked he didn't heard her.

"I'm sorry!" Ruka immediately turned their back on them, not forgetting to close the door.

Natsume fully closed his pants and looked at Mikan, snickering at her blushing face. "Who's the pervert now, huh?"

"I'm not a pervert! It's just that Ruka-pyon just had bad timing!"

"Stupid, you could've told me to stop."

"You would not stop even if I told you!"

"True. So, let's continue what Ruka thinks what we are doing." Natsume snaked his arms around Mikan's waist and leaned on her closely.

Mikan blushed furiously and instinctively pushed him away. "Pervert!"

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>I realized that I am lacking fluff here. Could you, readers, suggest something?

This story really has no plot or whatsoever. Actually, I don't really know what will happen in this story. I just write what I want.

Wait, that sounds confusing.

Thumbs up if you think Cloud Strife is hot.

Oops, I thought this is facebook.

**Edit:** I just realized the words are in bold. It pretty much gives headaches so I decided to fix it.


	8. Intersections

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Gakuen Alice or its characters.

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><p><strong>Heir, Heiress<strong>

**Chapter 8: **Intersections

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><p>"So, how long was there a camera in my room?" Luna begrudgingly asked her father.<p>

Her father inhaled deeply. "The time we came here to Japan."

"That means…" Luna sensed an upcoming long lecture coming from her father.

Mr. Koizumi nodded his head. "Yes, Luna, I saw what you did."

"What are you thinking? Taking away your life? That's preposterous!" Luna bowed her head down and just listened to her father's _charade _scolding.

"Do you have a problem? Don't be afraid to tell me. You know I will listen to you. Did someone bully you at school? Tell me their names and I will give them a piece of me. I don't give a damn anymore even if they're just teenagers, they hurt my daughter." Luna was weeping. She thought that his father was doing all of this to save the reputation of the Koizumi Corporation. After all these times, all he cares was about the Corporation. What did Luna do to have this kind of life?

Luna suddenly stood up from her seat and looked at her father, tears freely falling to her cheeks. It was time for her to release all the pent-up anger and frustration that was within her chest every time she would see her father. "Why bother doing all those things? You didn't care about me at all! It is always about the business! Your attention is always at the business! I didn't even felt that you were a father to me!"

He wants to say many things to her, but Luna ran away from the room.

Mr. Koizumi just looked at the door where his daughter disappeared. It was her fault why she acted that way.

* * *

><p>After Mikan pushed Natsume away, she went after Ruka to explain what really happened. Being frantic about the fact that Ruka saw them at such position, she did not saw Natsume frown.<p>

Natsume didn't know why he felt upset all of a sudden. _In Natsume's point of view_, it looked like she was explaining to Ruka because she likes him and that Ruka wouldn't get the idea he definitely has no chance with her.

What made Natsume relieved was that he knew Ruka didn't like Mikan _that_ way. It was just brotherly love.

"So, Polka likes Ruka eh?" He concluded. He didn't know why there was a heavy feeling at his chest. It seems that he couldn't accept the fact that Mikan has a liking to his best friend.

Why does he felt a sharp pang at his chest when he realized that Mikan likes Ruka? Why does Natsume looks like he was affected?

'_Of all people you have to like, why does it have to be Ruka?'_

Ruka was completely the polar opposite of Natsume. He wouldn't doubt if Mikan fell in love with the likes of him. He is every girl's dream guy.

Natsume shook his head. Why did he suddenly compare himself to Ruka?

'_I must be going crazy.'_

He stopped musing and proceeded to exit the rooftop.

* * *

><p>Ruka felt awkward after he witnessed the scene he wasn't supposed to see earlier. He always thought that either Natsume didn't know his feelings for Mikan or he was not acknowledging the fact that he was in love with her and was still at the 'denial' stage.<p>

What added more salt to his mental depravation was that before he left the rooftop, Natsume smirked at him as if confirming what happened. He blushed when he saw Mikan coming at him.

"Ruka-pyon!" But Ruka wouldn't dare turn around. He was just too shocked at what he witnessed earlier.

Mikan grabbed his arm that made him look at her. "Ruka-pyon, what you thought that what happened back there didn't really happen. I was just stopping Natsume because he was going strip in front of me!"

Ruka just sighed in relief. He knows that Mikan was a bad liar so he completely believes Mikan's statement.

He would love to see Mikan and his best friend get together but not at that stage. Both of them were still young. As much as possible, he wants to preserve Mikan's virginity after she gets married. Ruka felt the responsibility to be like a brother to Mikan after their senior, Tsubasa Andou, graduated. Tsubasa always takes care of Mikan the time he was still studying at the academy.

He also remembers the jealousy emanating from Natsume every time he would see the two together. Ruka always teases Natsume about it but Natsume just tell it was just irritation for the senior because he would always ruffle his hair every time he sees him at school.

Natsume may think it was irritation, but Ruka knew better.

His best friend was popular at their school not because of his good looks and his social stratum but because of his intellect also.

What made Ruka laugh was that Natsume was still dense about his feelings for Mikan although it was _blatantly_ clear he loves her. It really contradicted the fact that he was a genius.

"So… do you understand our situation now?" Mikan fiddled her fingers behind her back.

Ruka smiled reassuringly at her. "Don't worry, I completely understand it."

Mikan let out a sigh of relief. She doesn't want her friend to think that she and Natsume were doing it. "Thanks, Ruka-pyon! I know you will understand." She hugged Ruka out of appreciation. She didn't notice Ruka went stiff.

She waved at him. "Bye, Ruka-pyon! Take care!" She went off to find Hotaru to tell her what happened.

Ruka didn't bother to say goodbye to her because he was too focused at the figure he saw at her back the moment he was hugged.

"Natsume…" Ruka started cursing inside his head. His best friend just saw Mikan hug him. Knowing Natsume, he would assume things before finding out what really happened. He could really tell that his best friend was burning with jealousy right now.

He must be thinking along the lines of, 'Why can't I have a hug but he could?'

Feh, as if. He was still in denial.

Natsume went nearer to where Ruka was standing and patted his shoulder. "Good for you Ruka." Ruka could tell that it was forced. Before Ruka could explain, Natsume walked away.

Ruka put his hands on his face. Now, things would get messier.

* * *

><p>"I'm going now!" Mikan said cheerily to the persons working at their house, or rather, mansion. In return, she received a chorus of "Take care, Mikan-sama."<p>

Her parents were busy preparing for the corporation's centennial celebration so they were the first to leave early.

Mikan pulled her hood to cover her face before she went out of the door at the back of the house. She normally exits the house by the back door because their mansion was well known to be one of the Yukihara family's properties and people would drop by at their street just to admire its beauty. The Yukihara family was known to have no children and it would just raise suspicions on why would a high school girl was doing at the mansion if she exited at the front door.

She could play the role of one of the maid's daughter but they wouldn't dare risk it.

After she exits by the back door, she would wait at the garage for her chauffeur to arrive that would take her to school.

Her schoolmates didn't know she was riding a fancy car in going to school because she was dropped a few meters away from the Academy's vicinity.

But after Mikan's family was informed about Reo's jail fiasco, Mikan was strictly prohibited to use the family car for her own safety so she was instructed to ride the bus in going to school.

She just turned sixteen last December so that means she could legally drive a car and her family has the money to buy any car she wants, so why was she using the bus?

It wasn't because they want to lay low so that no one would really question why she got a car. After all, what her social stratum was at the business world or why was she studying at a prestigious school like Alice Academy remains a mystery.

The problem is, Mikan herself.

Mikan wasn't the type to learn things easily. She's too slow for a sixteen-year-old. Somehow, she learned something but her parents finally decided that she shouldn't drive a car anymore after the news reached their ears that Mikan left the teacher who evaluated her driving terrified.

She didn't lowered her hood yet when she arrived at the bus stop like she always does because she gets the feeling that she was being watched and it instinctively made her vigilant around her surroundings.

As each second passes by, her heart began to pound at her chest. She was alone at the bus stop and not much vehicle passes by at the street she was in.

Her hands went clammy and the pounding of her heart against her chest was getting faster when she felt that someone was getting nearer to her. And she got the feeling that that someone wasn't to wait for at the bus stop. She sensed danger from that someone.

Her brain was sending her signals to get out of the bus stop for her own safety but her whole body got numb. She was too petrified to move an inch.

When she saw the incoming bus, her numbness went away as if by magic. She impulsively stood up to wait for the bus' door to open and when it did, she hurriedly entered. She felt the bus' door closed the moment she entered. She let out a sigh of relief when she realized no one followed her. She sat at a sit beside the window.

The bus started moving and she surveyed the surroundings outside by the window to see if someone was really coming at her or she was just really getting paranoid.

Her eyes went wide when she saw a glimpse of a redhead's back facing her line of vision not far from where she used to sit. She could only follow the redhead's figure with her eyes as the bus moves.

She looked outside the window uninterestingly. She needed a breather. What will happen if that person really intended to do something to her?

She didn't know what would have happened if the bus didn't come on time. Her heart was still racing even though she knew she was safe now.

Mikan arrived at school, still stunned at what she felt earlier. She almost didn't pay the bus fare if she didn't pull herself together.

She inhaled deeply. _'I'm safe now. I don't have to worry about it.'_

Then the person that they call Reo Mouri who will likely kidnap her entered her mind. She wasn't completely safe from harm after all.

Did Reo finally discover the Yukihara's daughter? What will she do if that redhead was Reo Mouri? If the bus didn't come on time, would she be finished by now?

Many thoughts were roaming inside Mikan's head that she didn't know if they could get answers or not.

She shook her head. _'I must not worry myself on things like that. Nothing happened, I'm just getting foolish.' _She tried to calm herself but the possibilities that were running through her mind continued to remind her that she wasn't safe and sound from the clutches of danger.

She shakily touched the doorknob of her classroom's door and opened it.

"Good morning…" She meekly greeted. Her friends worriedly looked at her. She tried to hide her distress in front of them but she can't. She wasn't like Natsume or Hotaru that could hide their feelings with an emotionless façade.

Mikan proceeded to her seat and looked outside the window uninterestingly.

Hotaru raised an eyebrow and Ruka gazed at Mikan. They were thinking the same thing, _'What happened?'_

The door opened and the girls started squealing and whatnot. Natsume just arrived at the classroom. He ignored the girls that were too busy getting his attention and proceeded to his seat.

"Good morning, Natsume." Ruka greeted. Natsume just nodded at him.

Ruka was perplexed. Usually, when Natsume noticed that Mikan was troubled, he would tease her about how her face looked ugly wearing that frown on her face. It was Natsume's own way to _cheer_ her up. Somehow, Natsume could coax her to tell what made her in that mood, indirectly, of course. But this time, he didn't.

Ruka should have known better. Certainly, Natsume would act like that. After what happened yesterday, it was predicted he would give the 'silent treatment'.

Being the concerned one and thinking that Natsume wouldn't do that today, Ruka stood up from his seat was just about to ask Mikan but the bell rang, indicating that class was about to start.

He sat back and could only look at Mikan worriedly.

* * *

><p>Finally, lunchtime period came. The students hurriedly stood up from their seats to proceed to the cafeteria. They were hungry after the long and boring lectures from the teachers.<p>

Natsume stood up from his seat and started walking to proceed outside the classroom but before he could leave, he stopped by the door.

Without looking back, he said, "Let's go, Ruka."

"Wait, Natsume—" Ruka objected. He wants to know why Mikan was acting strange.

"Let's go." Natsume threateningly commanded him and went out of the classroom. Even if Hotaru was his worse nemesis, Ruka sent a meaningful look towards Hotaru to ask Mikan what happened. Hotaru just rolled her eyes at him.

Ruka followed Natsume out of the room when he was assured that he would find out earlier what happened to Mikan.

Did Ruka just command her to find out what happened to Mikan? Even though he wouldn't tell, she was going to do it anyways. She was on guard at all times especially if they found out Reo escaped from prison. Yuka trusted her on taking care of Mikan and she wouldn't dare laze around when Mikan was troubled about something.

Hotaru set aside her thoughts on why Luna Koizumi still hasn't attended classes so that she could humiliate her. She wants to know why Mikan looked like she was stirred up by something.

She proceeded to her best friend's seat that usually gets up with the first ring of the bell but it looks like she was too busy pondering about something.

"What's wrong with you?" Hotaru folded her arms against her chest and raised an eyebrow at her.

Mikan jerked up slightly, startled by Hotaru's voice. She raised her head and looked at Hotaru. "Oh, hi Hotaru. Let's go have lunch?"

Hotaru sat at Mikan's table and looked irritatingly at her. "Idiot, I asked you a question."

She sighed. There was no way she was getting out of Hotaru's inquiry. Maybe after she told her best friend about what happened this morning she would laugh at her and tell her she was just being an idiot.

She scratched the back of her neck as she started narrating what happened earlier.

Hotaru narrowed her eyes after Mikan finished telling her what's bugging her mind. "You will start riding with me starting tomorrow."

She then ran her hands through her hair that implied she was anxious about what was happening. "There's a huge possibility that it's Reo Mouri." She doesn't want her best friend to worry but she has to tell her that so that she would know to avoid him.

It was a fact that Mikan fears the most to know.

* * *

><p>Natsume wasn't the type to divulge about his feelings to anyone close to him. Being Natsume's best friend for so long, Ruka learned to know Natsume's feelings. One of Ruka's bases on knowing his best friend's feelings was how he acts.<p>

Whenever Natsume was troubled or annoyed, he could get clumsy.

Natsume didn't notice the rock at the middle of his pathway so he tripped on it. He faltered but regained his balance.

Like what just happened.

And he perfectly knew what caused his distress.

When he was steady, he fretfully looked left and right to check if someone saw him. When he saw none, he reverted back to his emotionless self and put his hands on his uniform's pockets.

"Natsume." Ruka said, masking the chuckle that was threatening to go out of his mouth. He was supposed to be concerned about him because he was either uneasy or irritated about something, but he can't help it. Seeing his best friend get clumsy was once in a blue moon. He'll just have to explain later about what really happened yesterday.

Natsume jumped slightly, he didn't bother to hide his shock when he noticed that Ruka was there beside him all along.

"You didn't saw that happened."

In the sticky situation they were in, Ruka could only nod.

* * *

><p><strong>A Week Ago<strong>

"Reo Mouri, you have a visitor." The jail guard informed to one particular prisoner.

The said person raised his head and looked at the guard skeptically. He was shocked; no one really visited him during the years he was locked up in the boring prison cell. He has no family, much less a close relative.

The jail guard opened his cell and handcuffed him. Reo followed the guard to the meeting area where his visitor awaits him.

At the way to the meeting area, Reo pondered on whom his visitor would be, thinking about it made him more agitated and at the same time, wary. He had a bad history with his _group of friends_. Therefore, whomever his visitor would turn out to be, it means bad news.

The echoes of their footsteps and the clanking of chains attached to the guard's clothes made Reo more impatient, it just made his cautiousness grow as each second passed by.

Finally, they reached the meeting area. Reo saw a familiar back turned to him, but he shrugged it off, thinking it was just another visitor. Besides, why would _that person_ visit him?

It seems that Reo got too many surprises in one day and it just keeps piling up. The guard led him to the familiar person he was thinking about earlier, he finally saw the person's face.

He couldn't be mistaken. It's _that person_.

The guard didn't notice that Reo went stiff but Reo's visitor saw it. He left them with their own devices while Reo sat across his visitor when he somehow recovered with his shock. He wore an emotionless façade that masked his worry, fury and astonishment. "Pleasure seeing you here, Mr. Koizumi, or should I say… Kuonji?" Reo's lips curved into a dry smile.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> Aww, **scott g**, you made an effort! But I think I can't insert that in this fic. I somehow got my outline for that part, I'm planning on doing something in this fic. I really asked for fluff scenes. Thanks for the effort though!

Thank you **Smart Reviewer** for the suggestion. I will try to insert that situation in this fic. :)

**Lulu** – A fellow Cloud Strife fan! I LOVE YOU. I mean every word of it. You are sooooo right. He is drop dead gorgeous. Heck, his name itself is a synonym for it. BWAHAHAHA

*sigh* my fangirling side is unleashed once again. Okay, moving on.

It was my mistake when I didn't mention why Luna was at Mikan's batch when she was just only 14. My plan at first was that Mikan and the other should be at 16-17 years old but seeing as I typed that Luna is 14, that will change. I didn't really know why I made her 14 at the first place. TT_TT

It really is important to have a plan then you wouldn't have a dilemma like mine. I really hate writing impulsively. Demn.


	9. Flames

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Gakuen Alice or its characters.

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><p><strong>Heir, Heiress<strong>

**Chapter 9: **Flames

* * *

><p>Mikan was forced to set aside her dilemma with the bus stop incident and followed Hotaru out of the room towards the cafeteria. There was this nagging feeling that she was missing something.<p>

The problem was she couldn't put her finger on it. She just shrugged it off and went to buy her lunch together with Hotaru who was buying almost everything from the menu. After their purchase, they proceeded to go to their table.

She caught sight of Natsume at their table but he looked away immediately when she looked at him.

She doesn't know why, but she has the strongest feeling that he has something to do with something that she was _missing_. Mikan discarded it and happily greeted her friends.

Meanwhile, all their friends were raising their eyebrows. They knew exactly what was missing.

Natsume didn't tease her about anything.

Their friends were looking at each other as if asking, 'What happened?' Hotaru and Ruka knew it very well.

Sumire, who found out she couldn't get anything from Hotaru, narrowed her eyes on Ruka. Ruka, in return, was just sweating from her intense gaze. He didn't know if Sumire was better when she was just one of his fan girls who just worshipped him or when she started viewing him just as a friend.

Ruka knew it was the time to explain what really happened yesterday so that Natsume wouldn't be disoriented by what really happened.

"Well, Natsume saw me and Mikan hugging and he got jealous."

"I didn't." Natsume vehemently denied.

"Okay, so he got disappointed that I didn't tell him I got a girlfriend." Ruka was just frustrated that his best friend strongly denies that he have feelings for Mikan. He meant it sarcastically but Natsume had no common sense at the moment. Apparently, he didn't know what the difference between a joke and a truth was.

Mikan was taken aback by what he said but realized that he was just joking. Natsume suddenly stood up and proceeded to get out of the cafeteria. He didn't know why, but he got hurt at the piece of news Ruka just said.

"_I should've known better."_

Mikan didn't know why, but she could distinguish Natsume's voice better among the crowd. She also stood up and followed Natsume out of the room. She felt the need to explain things to him.

Ruka was supposed to make things better, not make it worse. "Natsume, wait—" He ran his fingers through his hair angrily and also followed Natsume.

Hotaru also stood up. "I suddenly remembered I have an appointment to attend." Then she also went out of the cafeteria.

Their friends could only look at their retreating back. Koko put his hand on his ear. "Wait, what is that sound? Is that the sound of _hearts_ breaking?"

Kitsuneme just threw a French fry at Koko's place. "Dude, that's corny." He commented but Koko just shrugged and ate the fry that he threw.

"What is Hotaru-chan going to do?" Anna inquired curiously.

Nonoko just shrugged. "Maybe to video Mikan-chan and Natsume-kun. You know Hotaru."

"But didn't you see? She went to the other direction."

"What does that mean?" Anna asked again. They could only shrug.

Yuu who didn't fully recovered by what just transpired, asked his friends. "What just happened?"

"Natsume-kun just got his daily dose of jealousy. They'll make up later and if they didn't we're always here, are we?" Sumire said while twirling fettuccini using a fork.

* * *

><p>"Natsume!" Mikan screamed. Natsume also stopped walking. At last, she caught up with him.<p>

Mikan gave him a back hug. She thought that Natsume was just jealous she wasn't giving him a hug, so she gave him one. She felt Natsume stiffen in her embrace. Natsume almost forgot everything.

**Keyword:** Almost.

He nearly sighed in pleasure from the warmth she was giving in her embrace.

'_So this is what Ruka felt, huh?'_

_Ruka._

Rage suddenly appeared in Natsume's eyes and he harshly put down Mikan's hands that were on his waist.

"Don't touch me, whore."

"What?" Mikan got dumbfounded by what Natsume called her.

Natsume turned around to look at her. "You touch other people like you don't have a boyfriend." Mikan suddenly felt disheartened to explain to him.

Mikan felt hurt and angry by what he said. "You know what the problem with you is? You just assume things! You don't even confirm if it's true or not!"

"Are you saying that Ruka is a liar?"

"No but—" She was supposed to say that Ruka was joking back at the cafeteria but he cut her off.

"Then you got my reply." She didn't have a chance to fire back because he walked out from her. She wasn't in the mood to follow him and explain because of what he called her.

* * *

><p>Mikan grumpily walked in the school's parking lot and searched for Hotaru's white 2011 Lamborghini Gallardo Convertible. When she saw it, she hopped in and crossed her arms against her chest. She and Natsume ignored each other all throughout the afternoon lectures. What made her angrier was the fact that Natsume didn't made an effort to apologize to her. Then again, Natsume didn't really apologize to anyone. But still…<p>

"Drive."

Hotaru just raised her eyebrow. "I'm going to charge you for commanding me but let's negotiate that later." She exactly knew what made her in a bad mood. After all, she was one of the witnesses of Natsume and Mikan's fight. Hotaru can't do anything about it. They were always bickering like kids then afterwards they'll make-up later. Eventually, Hotaru would see the two talking to each other casually.

Hotaru drove in silence. Usually, Mikan would talk nonstop about random things whenever they are together but she was mad at the moment. She inwardly smiled. Mikan knew how to time her talkativeness because Hotaru just needed all the silence she could have.

After driving for minutes that felt like hours, they arrived at Mikan's house.

The servants saw Hotaru's car and opened the gates. Both of them got out of the car and entered the mansion. Mikan was still frowning even when she got home.

"I'm back." Mikan deadpanned.

"Welcome home, Mikan." Yuka got surprised by her daughter's impassiveness. Mikan kissed her on the cheek before getting up to her room. She just looked at Hotaru with a questioning look.

However, Hotaru just shrugged. "Maybe it was her time of the month." She lied. If she said that Mikan got into a fight with a male, Yuka will keep on asking her on what this male looks like and all the things she wanted to know about the boy. As we all know, Hotaru Imai is a girl with a few words. She doesn't want to waste her saliva in nonsensical things without merits.

"Auntie, we have to talk." Hotaru turned serious this time.

Mikan practically stomped her way in her room. The servants could only look at her curiously. When she arrived, she proceeded to lie at her gigantic bed and hugged a pillow tightly. What Mikan really hates about Natsume is his constant change of attitude. As far as she knows, she didn't do anything wrong to him.

Mikan punched her pillow consecutively thinking that it was Natsume. Just thinking about him made her more frustrated than she already was.

* * *

><p><strong>Next Morning…<strong>

"_The summer season just entered and we could already feel its heat! Expect the hot temperature today because no clouds were visible at the moment so just discard all your jackets to ride in the fun under the sun!"_ The host on the morning show informed when the weather report showed up.

Natsume just rolled his eyes and turned off the television. It wasn't easy at all when it's summer time, because literally, they will all be sweating bullets. If his fan girls didn't exist, he would've been topless going around at the school premises.

Yes, their school was air-conditioned, but it was just at the classrooms. When they go out if their rooms, they could have heat stroke because of the sudden change of temperature.

He just continued to prepare himself for school.

On the other part of his location, Mikan had trouble breathing. She just can't take the heat. She could've chosen to wait for Hotaru back at their mansion but Mikan didn't consult the weather reporter before she went outside. It was just morning and the temperature was starting to get heated. She was sweating and her uniform's starting to get wet. What more if the afternoon comes?

She heard the familiar sound of Hotaru's engine and beamed immediately. _'At last, air-con!' _Mikan mused. She got in at her best friend's car and was horrified by what she found out.

Hotaru didn't turn on the air-conditioner of the car and instead, just opened the windows.

"Could you please turn on the air-con please? It's so hot today!"

"No. Gas is costly these days. Nogi just found out about the bug and my funds are getting lower."

"Please?" Mikan begged.

"No." Hotaru started driving that made her word final.

Mikan just pouted and crossed her arms. She should've known better. Hotaru was frugal when it comes to money. Her parents give her big allowances everyday that could be spent for a month. She doesn't spend much besides from food and she said that her funds are getting lower? She could never understand Hotaru's mind.

The air outside was just as hot and it didn't help Mikan's situation any better. If she didn't know any better, the sun's beam would be scorching her skin now.

Riding with Hotaru was hell. It could be literal if the temperature in Japan gets any hotter.

We just found out that the weather at Japan was getting hot due to the fact that the summer season just entered. Moreover, our favorite heroes were getting annoyed by it. Even Mikan Sakura, who was known for her optimistic attitude, was not all smiles about it. Is it the fact that they were starting to feel the summer heat or is it because of Natsume Hyuuga? Will things between our protagonists get _hot_ today, too?

* * *

><p>Natsume got irritated because of the hot temperature. The temperature was just riding in with his mood. He loosened his tie and started unbuttoning his school shirt. Screw his fan girls.<p>

Wow, that's sizzling hot.

What I mean is his head. Girls just couldn't take their eyes off him or rather, his chest. Some was even drooling. It felt like he was mentally raped.

Things started to get hot in their classroom, whether it was literally or metaphorically.

Mikan never knew that Natsume was _this_ delectable. She had the biggest urge to run her hands through his chest. She felt heat started crawling in her cheeks. Natsume noticed Mikan was looking at him then decided to tease her. "Like what you see?" Her blush reddened.

She just crossed her arms and turned the other way. She was still mad about what Natsume called her yesterday. She wanted him to apologize but it looked like he wasn't going to any sooner. Well, if that' the case, she will just ignore Natsume all day.

Natsume's frown deepened. She was playing the ignoring game and he didn't like it one bit. He always loves to see her riled up when he teases her. He knew that Mikan was still mad at him for what he did yesterday.

"For a tenth grader, you sure are mouth-watering." A girl classmate of theirs boldly commented then sent a wink to Natsume. Mikan just posed a horrified look on her face. Good thing her back was facing Natsume.

Ruka let out an exhausted sigh. "Natsume, wear your school uniform properly. You're turning an eye-candy for girls and the next thing you know, you will be their prey."

Natsume couldn't agree more and buttoned his shirt on properly that made the girls groan.

* * *

><p>Natsume, together with Ruka, went to the cafeteria to buy their lunch. Even though they were the 'royalties' of Alice Academy, they still fell in line and waited for their turn.<p>

Every lunch, the gang always sits together at one table. But after Natsume and Mikan's feud yesterday, Natsume thought that it would be better if he would sit at a separate table. He doesn't want to put the gang in an uncomfortable atmosphere.

He told Ruka that he doesn't have to eat lunch with him and that he could eat with the gang, but Ruka, being stubborn as he was, insisted that he would eat lunch with him.

Natsume inwardly smiled when his best friend said those things, Ruka understood his situation.

But that was just his point of view.

He didn't know, Ruka and the others were on the move to make him and Mikan reconcile from their _fight._

"_It was just one of their childish fights." _Hotaru Imai just said when asked what her opinion was concerning the quarrel between the two.

Ruka looked left and right to pick a table, but the cafeteria was packed.

Natsume rolled his eyes. Alice Academy was one of the prestigious schools in Japan and yet their cafeteria didn't have enough tables? They have impressive facilities in the school and they chose to save money for the cafeteria's tables.

Sumire saw Ruka and meaningfully looked at him. He looked at his best friend worriedly; he knows that their plan will not be taken by Natsume lightly.

He cleared his throat to catch his best friend's attention. "Natsume, the available seats are just at the gang's table."

"Let's just eat at the garden—"

"NO! Uh… I mean… the garden is very far from here and the lunch break will be over soon so let's just eat with the gang's table."

Natsume narrowed his eyes at him. "You're planning something." But Ruka just dragged him. He didn't object or shrug off Ruka's hold on him.

He would have skipped classes but he was on his 'clumsy' mode. He wasn't thinking rationally or rather, he wasn't _Natsume-like_.

And Ruka knew it very well. He was smart enough to use that fact for their plan.

Mikan truly lived to her silent promise earlier because she successfully ignored Natsume and it was just lunchtime. However, could she also successfully ignore him with the other half of the day?

They reached the table and Natsume saw Mikan stiffen. The only available seats were beside Mikan and Hotaru. He was always beside Mikan, but this time, he doesn't want to sit with her. He could live to sit with Hotaru, although he has a definite loathe with the girl because of Ruka. It doesn't kill him anyways.

Natsume was just going to take the seat beside Hotaru but Ruka beat him to it.

"Imai, you took my photos secretly again!" However, Hotaru just shrugged.

'_Damn you Ruka.'_

Natsume thought that his best friend understood his situation. He was dead wrong about it.

He was going to leave when someone grabbed his hands. "Don't go, Natsume-kuuun~" It was Koko, mimicking Sumire's voice the time when she was just one of his fan girls. Sumire just looked irritatingly at her childish boyfriend.

* * *

><p>"Say ah…" Sumire raised a spoon with cheesecake in front of Koko. Koko opened his mouth and was about to meet the spoon but Sumire pulls it every time he does. She giggled at his boyfriend's failed attempts to eat the cheesecake.<p>

"Mou, Sumi… Don't be a tease." Koko pouted when he realized she wasn't going to feed her. Sumire tauntingly smiled at him and ate the cheesecake in front of him. He just grinned mischievously and kissed her even though they are in the cafeteria full of people.

What made Mikan and Natsume feel more awkward was when they saw Koko's tongue go inside Sumire's mouth.

They were left alone by their friends with the two lovebirds because of different 'excuses'. It was so obvious that they wanted Natsume and Mikan to patch up things between them.

The only reason Natsume wasn't leaving yet was that he wanted to apologize to what he said to Mikan. He knew he hurt her feelings.

But for persons like him, pride is a big pill to swallow.

"This is stupid." Natsume muttered while running a hand through his hair. He doesn't have the will to apologize yet. Knowing that, he stood up from his seat and proceeded to go out of the cafeteria. Mikan just looked at his retreating back disappointedly.

* * *

><p>Ruka rummaged through his old things at their attic, the time when he was just a kid. He suddenly felt the urge to reminisce the old times.<p>

He caught sight of a big wooden box lying not far from where he was sitting. He picked it up and removed the dirt that was piled up at the top before opening it.

He smiled when he saw the picture of him and Natsume at their kindergarten's playground. Ruka was smiling while Natsume just looked impassive, but still looked adorable. They were so cute back then. He went on to the next picture; it was a picture of him and Natsume again. Ruka was still smiling while Natsume looked irritated.

He remembered that Natsume's mother persuaded them to take a picture while Natsume was watching his favorite anime. Disturbing Natsume when it was time for his anime wasn't good so his annoyance was shown on the picture.

He was going to put back the pictures when he felt something softer than the glossy textures of the pictures. His curiosity won and he picked it up.

Ruka's eyes widened for a fraction of a second then grinned. It was a note Natsume wrote when he was just an _innocent_ kid. The note he was holding will be a good booster for Natsume and Mikan's relationship.

Six years of waiting was long enough. Their group of friends was already impatient on when something will happen between them.

When Mikan joined them in class, Natsume was so annoyed at her because of her optimistic attitude. He was harsh to her the moment Mikan talked to him. But then again, Natsume was harsh to every female specimen that ever stepped on the earth.

As months passed by, it was evident that Natsume was infatuated with Mikan. Their group of friends predicted that Natsume and Mikan would be together in no time. But they forgot that Natsume could be pretty ignorant when it comes to that things. Either that or he was as naive as Mikan. He didn't know that it would take them years just to acknowledge their feelings for each other.

"Imai's going to be so proud of me." He murmured then raised a brow after. Did Hotaru just enter his mind?

"I must be hungry." He shrugged off the lingering thoughts in his head and carefully tucked the note inside his pocket.


	10. Conclusions

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Gakuen Alice or its characters.

* * *

><p><strong>Heir, Heiress<strong>

**Chapter 10:** Conclusions

* * *

><p>"Why did you call me, shorty?" Reo Mouri said, his plum eyes flashing with irritation.<p>

"Allow me to introduce you my right hand man—"

"Wait, you have a right hand man? Then why are you asking me in doing this?"

"Could he handle the task alone?" Kuonji irritatingly replied. He snapped his fingers and called out, "Persona!"

A tall, black-haired man appeared from the shadows and went beside Kuonji. Reo detected the daunting aura he was giving off, and he was sure that he wasn't even trying. He was wearing a black long coat and a mask that completely hid his eyes. What made him look more scary was the accessories that was all over his body.

"You were there all along?" Reo blurted out. While the so-called Persona just rolled his eyes.

"Practice well and get to know each other better. You two know your way into the practice room, right? Don't cause trouble here or else I'll cut your heads off. I have to leave for a short while, I have a meeting to attend to but I'll be back as soon as it's finished."

"You sounded like a mother more like a criminal and besides we're grown-up _men_."

"After breaking my million-dollar vase last week, I don't think I could consider you as a man."

"That was an accident!" Reo exclaimed.

"What about the figurines that is even more worth than your life?"

"That—that was also an accident too!" Reo defended.

"The things around my house are getting wrecked because of you. Consider yourself lucky that I'm still nice or else I would've made you pay the things you broke."

"It wasn't my fault! You put too much things on the house you gave us!" Reo complained.

"Shut. Up." A deep, velvet voice said, more like commanded.

Finally, Persona spoke. The two who were bickering like kids quickly shut their mouths after hearing Persona. Even if Kuonji was the boss of them, he was still intimidated of Persona. Persona's the youngest out of the three of them and yet he succeeds on controlling Reo and him. Sometimes, they wonder who really the boss was.

"We—well, I better get ready for the meeting. See you later." Intimidated by Persona's presence, he fled out of the room.

* * *

><p>Hotaru just went home from Mikan's house after explaining Mikan's experience at the bus stop to Yuka. After parking her car at the garage, she proceeded to go inside. She was greeted by the sight of her father kissing her mother the moment she opened the front door.<p>

'_A gruesome sight_.' she noted mentally.

"Goodbye honey." Her mother said while smiling. "Oh, there you are, Hotaru. Where have you been?"

"I just stopped by at Mikan's house. Where are you going, father?"

"I have a meeting with the Koizumi Corporation, why?"

'_A perfect chance.'_ Hotaru mused.

"Take me with you."

Her parents looked at each other. When Hotaru saw the hesitation in their eyes, she said, "It would help me a lot. After all, I will be the one handling the corporation in the future."

"Alright. Just change your clothes." Her father said dejectedly.

"Shouldn't you be happy that I'm interested in the business?" Hotaru inquired.

"No, I'm glad. Very glad." He lied while Hotaru narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously but she dismissed it and proceeded to her room to change.

He was more scared than happy because he knows what his daughter was capable of doing. His daughter wasn't giving evidences that she was interested in taking the business that's why he was so surprised when she said she wants to attend a meeting with him. Right now, all he could do was watch a heedful eye on his daughter.

"I'll wait for you at the limo." Her father said while Hotaru just nodded.

"Start the car." He said to the butler. The butler bowed and went out. He also went out of their mansion after kissing his wife again and patiently waited for his daughter to come. After a few minutes, he saw Hotaru's shadow. She went in and closed the door while his father commanded the butler to drive.

"Where to, sir?"

"At the Koizumi Corporation's main branch." The butler nodded and drove off.

Both of them were quiet and the only sound that could be heard was the humming of the engine.

* * *

><p>Hotaru's father shook Mr. Koizumi's hand. "I'm the CEO of Imai corporation and this," He pointed his hand towards Hotaru who was beside him. "Is my daughter. She's sixteen." Hotaru bowed politely in front of the old men at the room.<p>

"You brought your daughter with you? Oh, that's good. I usually don't allow people to bring in their children while we're doing a meeting because they just disrupt the discussion but seeing as she's old enough to handle herself, I'm sure she'll do well. However, could she follow our meeting today? What if she falls asleep halfway?"

One thing that Hotaru hates was when people started thinking small of her.

'_I think I know where that Koizumi brat got her genes from.' _Hotaru thought while looking at Mr. Koizumi.

"Don't worry." Hotaru's father smiled reassuringly. Although he was assuring them, they still had doubts. Well, they could find out themselves if his daughter is deemed worthy to be called the 'heir of the Imai Corporation.'

"Do you want to be a spectator or do you want to join in to the meeting?" Her father asked.

"I'd rather join at the discussion. Thank you." Hotaru said as she took a seat beside her father. All of the shareholders raised their eyebrows. Hotaru noticed this and she was starting to get annoyed. Did they think that she would not give good feedbacks?

The meeting started after they comfortably seated themselves at the plush seats. Seriousness was etched on each of the people sitting at the room, looking intently at the projector as one of Mr. Koizumi's people started explaining thoroughly about the project. After a few hours, the discussion for the project ended.

"So, what are your opinions about this?" Mr. Koizumi looked confidently at the shareholders around him. He expected positive feedbacks from them because his corporation always does best.

He would love to hear the shareholder's praises but he wants to have a little fun. "Let's see, let's start with Ms. Imai." Well, Mr. Koizumi should know a fact, Hotaru was not going to be intimidated easily and she always has a keen eye on things. She wasn't one of Alice Academy's best students for nothing.

"This is good but there are a lot of mistakes in this report. You should fix that." Hotaru said while skimming through the pages of the portfolio the Koizumi Corporation handled to them. Mr. Koizumi just raised a brow.

"It looks like you're slacking off." Hotaru looked intensely at Mr. Koizumi. "Are you that confident that you'll stay at the top?" Mr. Koizumi became conscious suddenly because they were surrounded by his corporation's shareholders. Mr. Koizumi looked disbelievingly at Hotaru's father but he was busy looking at Hotaru.

"Redo this report again and we'll come back again to see the changes. We _expect_ you to do better." The shareholders all slowly nodded, agreeing with Hotaru.

"She has a point..." One of the investors whispered. They were starting to get impressed with her, and unknowingly, she was gaining their trusts.

"Oh, and one thing, you should order your daughter to redo the report." The shareholders looked dubiously at Hotaru, curious on why she was asking the CEO's daughter to do an arduous task.

This time, Mr. Koizumi couldn't hold his protests anymore. "But she's just fourtee—"

Hotaru looked impassively at him. "Whether she's fourteen or twenty is out of my business. Your daughter is going astray because of the lack of parenting. That girl needs discipline and this project is a good start." Mr. Koizumi narrowed his eyes dangerously at her. This time, it wasn't about having fun, it was about the battle of pride.

"Do you know how she does in school? She always gets low grades and it's pretty embarrassing when the teacher calls out her scores. Not only that, she prance around the school like she owns the world and calls people _undesirable_ names. She is known to be the heir to the Koizumi Corporation; do you know how bad that taints your business' reputation?" The shareholders all looked disbelievingly at Mr. Koizumi.

Mr. Koizumi leaned back and folded his arms. He looked at Hotaru cheekily. "Is this your way of getting back at my daughter?" He wanted to save his pride because obviously, Hotaru was hitting the corporation's archilles' heel.

"No." Hotaru scoffed inwardly. "We are _one of the best_ technology corporations in the _world_. I'm not bragging but it's the truth. We went at the top with a few mistakes as possible. We want almost perfection at the companies we are investing in."

"You're just a high school student, you don't know that much."

"I may not have much knowledge in these kinds of things and I'm still learning but I know that you are too confident about this project. This project requires a lot of money and if we do a bit of mistake, all of it will go to waste. It's like burning money."

"As you have said, this project requires a lot of money so why are you asking my daughter to redo the report for the project? My daughter isn't trained yet and she knows little about these things. You're contradicting yourself, Ms. Imai."

"It's not like she will be doing the report alone. You could help her and your staff if you want to. I mean, it's just redoing the report for this project. That isn't a difficult task, isn't it? We hold _eight percent_ of this corporation and considering how much money this corporation is generating every month, that's plenty. What would become of this corporation if your daughter were the next in line to manage it? If you have the guts to tell us that you are completely against about the idea, would you _waste_ the trust we put into this corporation? We could _pullout_ anytime we want to if you didn't meet our expectations. You would lose _a lot_ if ever we did that." Mr. Koizumi's smug look at her was instantly wiped out of his face.

"Do you have anything else to add?" Mr. Koizumi asked the shareholders at the room.

"We pretty much… have nothing to say. Ms. Imai said it all." One of the investor said, others nodded too, completely agreeing with him.

"Okay. Meeting adjourned." Mr. Koizumi grimly said. They all stood up and exchanged handshakes.

Hotaru bowed at the shareholders and at Mr. Koizumi. Her father followed suit.

"You're impressive back there. Did you saw how his face palmed when you were speaking?"

"I'm not the type of girl to sugar-coat my words. What could I do?"

Her father smiled. "I'm proud of you."

"I just want them to be at their own places. They have no right to underestimate an Imai."

Her father nodded proudly. "Right."

One of the shareholders walked up to them to talk. "You have a future ace there, Mr. Imai. Did you say she's just sixteen?"

"I'm confident that Imai Corporation will be on good hands." Another shareholder joined in the conversation then the two shareholders nodded.

Hotaru bowed out of courtesy. Her father was looking at her with proud eyes. "Thank you."

"Say, _if ever_ Imai Corporation will failin the future,would you become one of my high-ranked employees? I'm sure you'll be a big help to my company."

She looked at him confidently. "Thanks for the offer but Imai Corporation _will _not fail." A defiant look on her face was plastered while saying that.

"I like your attitude, Ms. Imai. It's getting late now, I've got to go." After exchanging handshakes and biding goodbyes, the Imai father and daughter was finally getting to go home.

She whispered to her father while they were walking towards the entrance of the corporation. "Is this the art of _sucking up_?"

Her father whispered back. "Yes."

"You have a lot of talents. If ever the corporation will fail, expect businessmen to persuade you to join their companies. You're a valuable person; they can't afford losing someone like that."

Hotaru suddenly sneezed. "Do you have a cold?" Her father asked worriedly.

She shook her head. "I'm fine. It must have been dusty around here."

Her father smiled knowingly. "You know, they say when you sneeze out of the blue, someone is thinking of you."

* * *

><p>Ruka couldn't really sleep because of what happened yesterday. His conversation with Hotaru that left him stupefied…<p>

_Ruka was busy running after Natsume to explain when someone grabbed him and slammed him to the wall. "It wasn't true, right?" The one responsible in making him go in such a position, asked. He looked up and realized it was Hotaru._

"_What do you mean?"_

"_Did you really become Mikan's boyfriend?"_

"_Hotaru, I was just kidding!"_

"_You better be." Hotaru crossed her arms._

_Ruka stood straight and stopped leaning against the wall. "You should've known that it was a joke, Imai." His voice wasn't heard because someone suddenly yelled. They both looked to see what the commotion was about._

"_Natsume!"_

_It was Mikan who shouted. The two forgot about their conversation and watched as the scene in front of them unfolds._

_Mikan gave Natsume a back hug but Natsume put down her hold on him._

"_Don't touch me, whore."_

"_How dare him—" Hotaru was going towards their direction to give Natsume a good beating when Ruka grabbed her arm. She looked at Ruka who was shaking his head implying that she shouldn't interfere._

"_He's calling her names. I do not approve of this. What more if they became a couple?" Hotaru growled dangerously while glaring at Ruka._

"_Imai, I think we shouldn't interfere now. Things are getting intense and if we step up, it could get worse. Just let the two cool down for some time."_

_Hotaru complied with his statement. "Just this once…" She warned him and decided to leave the two alone to give them privacy. Ruka also followed her. They were walking side by side now._

"_Did you find out why I obviously put a bug on your rabbit?"_

_Ruka's eyebrows furrowed. He didn't know why she was bringing this topic all of a sudden. "Uh… no?"_

_Hotaru inhaled sharply before looking Ruka straight in the eye. "I was giving motives and yet you didn't notice…" Ruka stopped and looked at Hotaru's retreating back._

_He wasn't naïve like Mikan. He knew what she meant._

Ruka felt his cheeks grow hot. He shook his head. He must forget about Hotaru's words. Hotaru must be messing his mind again, he shouldn't give in to her childish games. He should forget about her.

His eyes landed to the picture frame beside his bed. It was Natsume and his picture together when they were just in elementary.

He bit his lip before calling his best friend's number. He wasn't interfering, just encouraging Natsume to do the right thing because he could be idiotic sometimes and Ruka's always there to guide him. In a way, he was like Natsume's second… uh, mother perhaps?

"_Ruka, why did you call?"_ Natsume asked the moment the beeping stopped.

"Apologize to her before everything goes haywire, Natsume." Ruka said, straight to the point.

The other line went silent so he continued, "We all know that she's waiting for you to say sorry. Do it now, before something bad happens."

He heard Natsume sigh. _"I'm trying... What can I do?" _He barely whispered the last smiled. It was rare to hear Natsume ask when he was in the time of a crisis. Usually, he would keep his problems and find the answers himself. Natsume was really hopeless when it comes to Mikan.

"Listen carefully… you could simply apologize to her but I couldn't imagine you apologize to anyone so do this…" Ruka started saying numerous suggestions to his best friend.

"_I will not do that. That's more worse than simply saying sorry to her. What about my pride?"_

'_Sure, you're my best friend, but sometimes you're so irritable I'd love to see you suffer.' _Ruka thought and grinned.

"Sakura's worth it, Natsume. We all know that she became your friend. You treated her better than you treated any other girls. She had your trust. When you're in trouble, who was there for you? It wasn't only me, but she was always there… beside you—"

"_Cut that crap out, Ruka. You're disgusting me."_

Ruka chuckled and continued to speak. "Do it, Natsume or you'll waste your six years of friendship with Mikan. Don't worry, I'll help you."

"_Hn. Fine. Be sure on helping me out on this or else I'll kill you."_

"I don't back down on what I said and you know that. By the way, it's getting late now. Goodnight, Natsume."

"_Night." _Ruka pulled out the phone from his ear and ended the call.

He leaned back to his bed's headboard and pulled out something from his pockets. It was the note he got from the attic moments ago. "Time for plan B…" he murmured.

* * *

><p>The heat was unbearable for the past few days and it was about time it will start raining. (Much to the delight of Japan's citizens) Thus, explains why it was dark and cold in the premises of Alice Academy.<p>

But as if that would stop the gang's plan.

"This is gold, man!"

Sigh. "I never thought Natsume-kun is like this when he was little."

"If he wasn't unbelievably in love with Mikan-chan, I would definitely hit on him."

Nudge. "Nonoko!"

"I was kidding!"

"Oh look, Mikan's coming this way."

When they saw Mikan walking down the school's corridor, they knew it was the cue for their plan to take action. Ruka quickly hid the note the gang was currently reading much to their chagrin. Koko was going to call Mikan when someone beat him to it.

"_MIKAN SAKURA!"_

Mikan turned around when she heard her name called. She didn't have time to see who it was because the person who called her covered her mouth with cloth. She tried to struggle from her attacker's hold to no avail.

She felt weak and feels like she's fainting anytime now.

And she did.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> I was supposed to make Kuonji scary. I don't know but… it turned like that.

For those who are still reading this, sorry for not updating and thank you. :)


	11. Veils

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Gakuen Alice or its characters.

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><p><strong>Heir, Heiress<strong>

**Chapter 11: **Veils

* * *

><p>"Looks like I still have it after all these years." Reo Mouri said arrogantly when he hit the target with his gun close to the middle.<p>

Without warning, Persona, his partner in crime, shot the target right at the center. Just to show who's the boss.

Reo frowned. "No fair! I just got out of prison and you're training nonstop. Of course you'll perfectly hit it."

Persona just rolled his eyes. "Shut up, detainee."

"Don't talk back to me. I'm still older than you, brat."

The latter just looked at him impassively that personally scared Reo. "You're just a pile of dirt to me." After he said that statement, he left Reo alone at the practice room.

Reo crossed his arms over his chest and grunted. "Shorty should learn to discipline his underling…"

* * *

><p>Natsume stared incredulously at the sleeping figure before him; never in his life that he thought that his butler was <em>this<em> stupid.

He glared at the terrified man on his side. "Why in the damn world is she unconscious?"

During their lunch break, he sent one of his butlers to pick Mikan so that his plan will be put into action, following Ruka's advice last night when he called. It appalled him when the news that Mikan was in the clinic reached him and it was enough to make him run to see her. When he saw his butler beside Mikan's bed, he instantly knew who had done it.

"Y—You said I have to use force if she didn't come with me." He lied. Natsume knew his butler was scared shitless. After all, no one hurts Natsume's friends without getting away with it.

Natsume was a perfectionist and as his boss, failing him could only mean one thing, getting fired. Hurting Mikan would only increase his consequences he was going to get from Natsume.

_Because, after all, she was the girl Natsume loved for years._

"She didn't even know your intention." Ruka objected who was beside Natsume. Natsume's glare on the man deepened.

"_Someone's trying to kidnap Mikan-chan!"_

_Ruka inaudibly cursed and stopped his friends from going near her. "Don't worry, that's one of Natsume's people, as if he's going to hurt her." However, it says otherwise at the scene happening before their eyes._

"_But Ruka-kun, Mikan-chan's already unconscious." He sighed dejectedly before going near the man who drugged Mikan._

"_Rui, what are you doing?" The man seemed startled for a second before calming himself._

"_Master Hyuuga ordered that I have to bring Miss Mikan Sakura to him."_

"_Then why did you knocked her out? You know you'll be in big trouble when Natsume hears this."_

_The so-called Rui just scratched his head. "We—well…"_

"I didn't know she is Master Hyuuga's girlfriend!"

The occupants of the room looked at him as if he evolved into some kind of alien.

"She's not my freaking girlfriend Amane, so shut your mouth."

"Then to whom was the fluff puffs at the garden for?" Natsume threw another glare at him.

"Woah, Natsume. I never thought you would follow my suggestion."

They heard a thunderclap outside then afterwards; they saw it was heavily raining outside through the clinic's windows.

"It's raining." Ruka pointed out the obvious.

"_We are hereby announcing that classes are cancelled today due to the rainfall that is expected to be getting strong, I repeat, classes are cancelled today due to the rain..."_

Rui looked worriedly at Natsume. "Master, how about the event you _personally_ prepared at the garden?"

Natsume sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "It can't be helped. Amane, fix that mess after the rain stops."

Rui nodded and was about to leave the room when Natsume spoke again. "Oh, and another thing, order another twenty boxes of fluff puffs again and bring it here." Rui nodded again and left the room.

Natsume clandestinely smiled before going near at Mikan's sleeping figure.

* * *

><p>When Ruka exited the room, he first saw the anxious faces of their friends waiting to know Mikan's condition. They all headed straight to the clinic to visit Mikan to know what her current state was the moment they found out that their teacher was absent today.<p>

"So, is she alright?" Anna asked the moment Ruka closed the clinic's door.

Ruka nodded. "She's fine. Just resting."

Their friends all sighed in relief knowing that their friend was okay. "Why did his butler did that? I mean, one in their right mind would know how to back off when they know that Mikan-san is one of Natsume-kun's friends."

"Well, he thought that Sakura's one of Natsume's fan girls."

Kitsuneme shrugged. "Figures, that underling of Natsume is stupid, I tell you." He said who had a personal experience when he visited Natsume's house.

"I saw him once… ONCE. Never thought someone would be dumber than him." Koko added his own opinion too when he went with Kitsuneme at Natsume's residence and shook his head for a dramatic effect.

Ruka sighed. "Let's just hope this incident will not happen again."

"Can we see her?" Nonoko asked hopefully.

Ruka snorted and folded his arms. "I was kicked out by Natsume. Do you think you could go inside?"

"But why?"

"For all I know, he would be apologizing to Sakura and he doesn't want to be disturbed."

Sumire clicked her tongue. "Let's just go guys. We can't persuade a stubborn person like Natsume to let us in the clinic. I still have to find a dress for tomorrow. Good thing the classes are cancelled today." She looked at Anna and Nonoko. "You two will definitely come with me." The two nodded and bade their goodbyes to the boys who were still in front of the clinic.

"Where's Ho—Imai?" Ruka asked.

Yuu was the one who answered. "Her? She said that she's busy and she knows that Mikan will be fine so she doesn't need to worry."

"Oh." Ruka's disappointed reply. He doesn't know why, but he felt the need to see her, maybe because he wasn't used to Hotaru not blackmailing him, which consumed all his time.

"Well, Ruka, we have to go." Kitsuneme patted his shoulder. "We also have to prepare for tomorrow. See yah!" Ruka just absently nodded.

* * *

><p>Natsume took a seat beside Mikan's bed and stared at her serene face. He doesn't know why, but he had the urge to stroke her face. She shifted in the bed facing him, making her face nearer.<p>

He had the chance to see her face up-close. He took the time to study her features, from her thin eyebrows, her long eyelids, her cute nose…

And finally, her appetizing red lips.

He unconsciously licked his.

It looked like he was teasing him, inviting him to kiss her.

The. Temptation. Is. So. Damn. Strong.

It's not like she'll know… right?

_Just once. _He told himself.

He leaned forward slowly, his lips a mere inch away from her when he remembered something.

"_I want my first kiss to be with the one that I love."_

Instantly, he drew back and sat properly on his chair.

He sighed and looked at her face. "Mikan… If only you knew…"

As if she heard him, her eyes opened and let her eyesight adjust from the room's brightness.

Natsume straightened his back when he saw that Mikan's waking up from her sleep.

"Uh… How are you?" Mikan looked at her right where Natsume was.

"Good." Natsume nodded.

"How long was I out?"

"Long enough."

"How about class?" Mikan panicked momentarily. She doesn't want to skip classes as possible because she needed all the grades she could have, not when she's practically close in failing all her subjects.

"Don't worry, Ruka took care of it." Natsume orderedRuka to tell their teachers that Mikan's not feeling well as an excuse to save himself from further humiliation and since then, he hadn't left the clinic room. He was guilty because he was the reason why she was unconscious.

"So, what happened?" After waking up, she decided to sit at the bed because her body was weary, probably from lying for too long.

He sighed. "Don't even ask." He didn't want her to know because he would just embarrass himself further. Sure, he wasn't the one at fault, but still, the one who did this to her was one of his people. If only he didn't listened to Ruka's stupid suggestion…

She puffed her cheeks—A habit of hers that he founds cute. "I think I have the right to know what happened. I fainted for who knows why!" He cursed inwardly, why does she have to be curious of everything? Can she just accept the fact that she fainted without knowing the reason?

He ran his fingers through his hair. "Fine, if you want to know." He hesitated telling it to her because he never fails. If Natsume Hyuuga did it, it will be pure success, no doubt.

"I sent someone to pick you up—"

"Wait, why would you want to pick me up?"

He looked irritatingly at her. "Just make me finish my explanation, alright?"

"So, this someone thought that you're one of those annoying hags and knocked you out. That's why you're here lying in the clinic bed."

"You didn't tell me why you would send someone to pick me up." He looked away from her.

"Natsume?"

"Because…"

"Hmm?"

He picked something underneath his chair and dumped it at Mikan's feet. "I want to say sorry. There, I said it." After he said that statement, he looked at the floor that he suddenly found interesting.

Mikan instantly smiled when she saw what he gave. It was fluff puffs. But what delighted her more was that he apologized to her. Finally, their relationship was back to normal. It was hard for Mikan to ignore Natsume. Even though he did something unforgivable, she just can't find a reason to be mad to him for a long time.

She went nearer and hugged him. "I missed you, Natsume."

He was too shocked to react.

She hugged him.

_She hugged him._

SHE HUGGED HIM!

And… She missed him? So, it wasn't just him after all.

He faintly smiled before rubbing his knuckles in her head after recovering from the fact that they were hugging. "Idiot." His way of saying he also missed her. But as if Mikan would know that.

Even if his prepared event for her failed, this was more effective. He was feeling better after apologizing to her. When she started avoiding him, he just can't take it. After all, besides Ruka and his family, she was the one closest to his heart.

And the one he loved.

Ruka and the others may not know it but Natsume acknowledged his feelings for her.

He knew there was something wrong when their recent fight bothered him. Sure, they always fight because of stupid reasons without him apologizing, but this time, when Mikan started disregarding him, he knew he had to do the right thing.

It made him feel queasy that he can't do his favorite pastime—teasing her.

He loved seeing the infuriated look on her face whenever he was annoying her.

He loved the attention he was getting from her every time they would have their petty fights.

Oh damn it, he loved her alright.

As much as he loved the physical contact they were doing, Natsume had a reputation to keep.

"Oi, Polka, stop hugging me."

The latter broke away from him—_in which he secretly frowned at the loss of her body's warmth against his_—and blushed.

* * *

><p>"What is it, father?" Luna said nonchalantly to her father whose attention was on the papers on his table.<p>

Her father looked up briefly before going back to his work. "The school called," Luna unconsciously swallowed her saliva and nervousness passed her eyes temporarily. "They informed me that you're not attending classes."

He stopped working on his paperwork and folded his arms. "Luna Koizumi, you know the consequences when you don't follow the rules, right?"

She bowed her head and nodded weakly. "Yes, father."

"Starting next Monday, I have to send someone to see you get to your classes so that I will be sure you will get to school."

"As for your punishment, I will collect you credit cards and gadgets today and I will give it back to you when I deem it's appropriate that you learned your lesson. Not only will I collect your credit cards but you will also start learning to handle the corporation." She bit her lip. For sure, she will hate serving for their corporation.

"We will start next Monday after your classes end. I will teach you on how to do a report and you will do it. That's final."

"Yes, father."

"Oh and another thing, prepare the best dress you could find. We're going to attend a party tomorrow night. That's all; you could proceed to your room." Luna nodded and walked towards the door when her father spoke again. "You know your punishment would be worse if you mother is here, right?" She turned around and looked at him.

"Don't worry, I won't tell your mother." She smiled before going out of the room.

* * *

><p>"I'll send you home."<p>

"No, I'm fine. I'm sure that Hotaru will come."

'_Where is Hotaru now?' _Mikan thought impatiently.

Earlier, Hotaru excused herself from attending classes and went to do something important. Mikan didn't have any slightest idea on what was it about, but she guessed it have something to do with their corporation.

"It's raining, Polka and the school is about to get empty."

Mikan sighed and smiled at him. After they left the clinic, Natsume made sure that she's okay, as if telling her that he won't do the same mistake twice. "I'm sure she'll come." He nodded and proceeded to enter his car that had just arrived in front of them.

She could only gaze at the retreating car of Natsume. She fished out her cell phone from her pocket to call Hotaru when she realized there's no signal.

"I'm doomed." She frowned and decided to wait at the shed near the parking lot.

Her patience started running thin when one hour had passed. She nearly consumed all the fluff puffs that Natsume had given to her earlier due to waiting.

She became cautious when a Black Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren came near her. What if someone tried to kidnap her? If that was the case, she can't call someone for help. The waiting shed was a little far from the school so that was out of her options. In addition to that, she was all alone at the waiting shed.

A kidnapper would've driven a van or something but not a sports car… right?

Her musing stopped when the car's window automatically opened, revealing its driver.

"Hop in."

"Natsume?" It amazed her because all this time, Natsume knew how to drive. So, why would he let someone chauffeur him when he could get to school by himself? Maybe he thought that driving was a strenuous task to do. Figures, Natsume was a lazy boy, a fact that Mikan could confirm after being with him for years.

The car's door opened upwards, astonishing Mikan, not hiding the fact that it was her first time seeing a car like this. "Get in, Polka, damn it." Mikan quickly scurried off the waiting shed and hastily entered his car.

"Where do you live?" He asked once she settled down at the passenger's seat, not minding that she just dampened his precious car's seat.

It was raining hard outside and she didn't brought her umbrella with her. And the worse of it all, her house was a little far from the Academy if she ever chose to walk home.

Mikan's face displayed what she was feeling right now, horrified.

She didn't have a choice.

Her parents ordered her that no matter what the situations are; she wouldn't tell anyone that she was a Yukihara and telling her home address to Natsume was a dead giveaway.

Not when everyone practically knows where the Yukihara family lived.

For the love of fluff puffs, how would she answer him now?

* * *

><p><strong>gakuen alice addict: <strong>_P.S. When is everyone going to find out Mikan is a Yukihara? _- Hmm… to tell you the truth, that is still undecided.

P.P.S. What day is it? Because they where supposed to have that ceremony on Saturday. Or did Yuka cancel that? I can't remember :( -

Thank you for reminding me that! I checked all my chapters to see what day it was only to realize that it passed a week now. Thank you again for pointing that mistake! :)

Anyways, don't you think that it's kinda cool when FFN recently added that 'Image Manager' feature?

**For all the silent reviewers out there, please review. :) Don't be afraid, I don't eat humans. Just chocolates. :D**


	12. Troubles

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Gakuen Alice or its characters.

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><p><strong>Heir, Heiress<strong>

**Chapter 12:** Troubles

* * *

><p>Natsume Hyuuga stared shortly outside his window as he plopped a strawberry in his mouth. The rain wasn't stopping anytime now, quite the opposite, actually. As each moment passed by, it kept on raining hard.<p>

He looked like he didn't have a care in the world but if you looked closely enough; you'll see that he was troubled over something.

After he safely returned home from the Academy, he immediately went into his room to have his daily dose of strawberries. He changed his clothes and drew out his hidden stash of his favorite fruit under his bed. He didn't want to share. No, all the strawberries was exclusively for him.

_It was probably why the strawberries at the kitchen was consumed the moment it was placed from the refrigerator._

However, the strawberries didn't help calm his nerves. He was worried about Mikan. He had a nagging feeling in his chest that she wasn't at home yet.

The rain got stronger adding to his worry.

"Oh, darn it." He cursed when he found out that he had devoured all of his favorite strawberries. It was his last supply and he still wanted more.

'_Damn it all, I'm going out.'_

With that thought in mind, he walked out of his bedroom and went downstairs.

He could've ordered one of the servants at the mansion to buy one but we all know that it was just his silly excuse to see Mikan back at the Academy.

"Where are you going, Natsume-sama?" Someone asked him whom he guessed was behind. He turned around and saw it was the head maid. He decided to ignore her question when he realized that ignoring her would get into his parents' ears. He's _required_ to answer her or else he would be so dead if his parents found out he wasn't obeying them.

"I'm going out for awhile."

"But, Natsume-sama, it's raining hard. Can it wait for tomorrow?" He did not want someone to control him about his decisions and it just pissed him off whenever someone tried to do that.

Natsume looked nonchalantly at her. Well, at least he answered her question. His parents didn't establish a rule saying that he was required to follow them, right? "NO." He fished out his car keys from his pocket and proceeded on exiting the mansion.

"Natsume-sama, at least take this so that I will be at ease that you will not get wet." He stared at the umbrella at her hand before he took it silently and went outside.

He went at the garage conjoined to the mansion and clicked something.

The car's doors automatically opened and he sat himself at the driver's seat. He put the umbrella on the headboard as he started the engine. It roared to life as he exited the garage and went towards the Academy.

'_Mikan, you better NOT be there or else I'll kill Ruka's rabbit.'_

The drive to the Academy was short because it was just near. He drove to the Academy's waiting shed with Mikan in his mind.

His blood boiled when he spotted her still at the waiting shed.

Okay, forget about the idea on killing Ruka's rabbit. His best friend would kill him himself if ever he did that.

Her eyebrows were furrowed and her _marvelous _lips marred a pout. Beside her were the boxes of fluff puffs he bought for her earlier that he guessed she consumed all of it.

His hate for the youngest Imai kept on piling.

He drove his car near the shed and pressed something at his left, opening the window.

"Hop in."

"Natsume?" He stopped his urge to roll his eyes. She may be wondering why he could drive all this time. He wanted to but his laziness got the better of him. Besides, his family could support hiring a chauffeur.

He pressed something again at his left, opening the car's doors. "Get in, Polka, damn it." She quickly stood up and entered his car.

After closing the doors, he looked at her and asked, "Where do you live?" At that time, it dawned into him that he didn't really knew where the brunette lived. He knew all of his friends' addresses but not her.

He became a little confused when she posed a horrified look on her face. When she didn't answer, he asked again. "_I said_, Polka, where do you live?"

That got out of her trance. "I'll just tell you the directions."

"Are you afraid that we'll get lost? You make it look like I don't know Tokyo. Just tell me what street it is and you could tell me the directions after we arrive there."

She sighed and leaned back on the car's plush seat. "Fine." She told him what street it was. Before Natsume could drive off from the Academy, he saw a redhead from his peripheral vision. The redhead's back faced him so he can't see the face.

He had a sneaking suspicion that the redhead was going to do something to Mikan. He discarded that feeling and drove away.

Silence enveloped them but neither felt uncomfortable about it.

Natsume observed her from the corner of his eye. He watched her marvel on the car's interior.

"Hey, Natsume. Is that hard to learn how to drive a car?"

He gave her a fleeting look before looking back on the road. He's wondering why she's asking that all of a sudden. "Piece of cake."

He heard Mikan click her tongue. "Really, huh?" The conversation about driving ended just like that, but Natsume figured that she wanted to say more.

"Do you want me to teach you how to drive?"

Almost instantly, Mikan looked at him with a bright expression on her face. "Really?"

He nodded. "But first, tell me the reason why you wanted to drive a car."

"I want to so I tried taking lessons, but…" She hesitated on telling him.

"You always fail because you're stupid enough not to understand anything, right?"

She pouted but didn't retort back at his crude remark. "I'm not stupid. I just can't follow what the teacher is saying. I don't even know why they have to put that on cars." She said while pointing on the gear stick.

He suppressed the chuckle forming on his lips. And she still have the guts to deny about her not being stupid.

"In cars like this, this is one of the important parts." He opened the top cover of the gear stick that made Mikan surprised. "Because this," He pointed at the button that showed when he lifted the cover. "—Is the one responsible to start this car." He explained while taking glances to the road every now and then.

She nodded slowly, taking the time to understand what he meant. "Wow. I didn't know cars are this advanced nowadays." Then she excitedly squealed. "Tell me more!" Natsume was sure she was looking forward when he'll teach her how to drive. It made him excited too.

He smiled secretly seeing the animated look on her face. "Sure, next time. We're here. Tell me where your house is."

When Mikan recognized the street they were in, she turned to Natsume. "You can drop me here."

He kept on searching for a house at the vicinity they were in but to no avail. "Where's your house?"

"Just at the corner." She said while taking off her seatbelt.

"You're expecting me to drop you off here?" Mikan replied with a nod. He didn't get it why would she be so secretive on where she lived. It's not as if he was criticizing her once she showed her house.

"Wait. Tell me where your house is so I could drop you off properly." Mikan can't hide her shock on Natsume's nice behavior towards her. After getting a hug from her, she shouldn't be so surprised. It made Natsume in a good mood for today.

"No, Natsume. You've done enough."

He was going to argue more when his eyes caught a store selling strawberries and it was starting to close. He needed to buy his favorite fruits, fast.

"Okay, fine."

When Mikan started going out of the car, that's when Natsume noticed that she didn't bring any umbrella with her. "You're seriously not going out there without an umbrella, right?" She nervously laughed.

"Stupid. Do you want to get sick or something?" He remembered the umbrella he bought with him. He took it from the headboard and shoved it at Mikan. "Here."

She looked at it before staring at Natsume's face. A smile instantly formed on her face as she took it. "Thank you, Natsume." He felt special when he was the one who managed to make her smile. He wanted to keep her smiling as possible. Just thinking about it was enough to make him happy.

"Thanks again, Natsume. Drive safely." She smiled at him again. He almost smiled back at her when he realized that it would be so out of character (As if he wasn't at the first place). She opened the door and the umbrella.

He didn't left yet; he wanted to see her off before he leaves.

Oh gosh, his bad boy image was starting to fade out.

Was he going to be like Ruka?

He prayed well not.

He watched her walk away from the car. She stopped walking and looked at him, she waved her hand frantically, telling him goodbye.

So that's what it's about…

He was smiling like a lunatic after she turned around and continued walking.

The small gestures she made were driving Natsume crazy. He still can't forget the strawberry-scented perfume she wore that greeted his nostrils the moment she reached out of the umbrella…

Gosh, he's turning mushy and he hated it.

Speaking of strawberries…

Damn. The store's closed.

* * *

><p>"I'm home!" Mikan cheerily said the moment she entered the mansion. A maid took her bag and bowed to her.<p>

"Is my parents home?" Mikan asked a random maid.

The maid nodded. "Yes ma'am. They are upstairs. Hotaru-sama is also here too."

"Hotaru's here?" Mikan asked again for confirmation. Her eyes landed on the figure sitting at their living room.

"Hotaru!" She whined as she went near Hotaru.

The latter looked at her impassively. "You're here." Anger seeped her veins. She waited for… what? Almost two hours for Hotaru? Yet, she didn't look like she cared any at all.

Mikan puffed her cheeks. "Hotaru, you're supposed to pick me up. You should've texted or called me to inform me you're not coming."

She sighed. "I'm sorry, Mikan. I guess it slipped out of my mind." It was rare for Hotaru to apologize to someone that easily. It made her uncomfortable. Before Mikan could believe that some kind of angel possessed Hotaru, she noticed that she developed eye bags. What's worse, her complexion was paler the last time she saw her. And that's just this morning.

Immediately seeing her best friend's condition, she forgave her. "Hotaru, are you okay?" She sat beside Hotaru and checked her temperature. Hotaru gently swatted her hand on her forehead.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me. Worry about yourself for tomorrow."

Mikan pouted. "Mou, Hotaru. I could handle myself tomorrow at the party. What matters most now is your health. You look like you missed eating lunch." Hotaru missing lunch? Impossible. But Mikan can't help think like that.

Hotaru snorted beside her. "As if I'll miss eating my crabs."

"You should really go home now. No, sleep over here. At least just today, please?" With her best puppy eyes, she begged. It always worked whenever she did this. Besides, it was a long time since Hotaru slept over.

However, Hotaru didn't give in to her pleads. "Can't. I'll be busy once I get home."

Mikan instantly pouted, displeased that her puppy eyes didn't work on her. "Hotaru, I'll steal your gun if ever you'll get sick. At this rate, you can't attend the party tomorrow."

"I'm a strong girl. I don't catch diseases easily."

"It that's the case, I can't let you drive today." Mikan defiantly ordered.

Hotaru looked at her as if she done wrong. "Idiot, you can't drive."

Mikan really, _really_ looked forward in the idea of driving. But because she can't understand the complexity of driving, she gave up. She can't even understand a word her teacher was saying. Hopefully, someday, she will learn how to drive.

"Then I will send someone to send you off."

Hotaru sighed and gave in to her pleads. "Fine. By the way, how did you get here?"

"Natsume came to pick me up."

Mikan's parents, who just came down the stairs, quickly whipped their heads around towards her direction. "Natsume?" Her parents shared knowing glances.

She scratched her head. "Urm… Yeah." Her parents occupied the sofa across Mikan and Hotaru's.

Her father put his hand on his chin. "That sounds like a boy's name." He narrowed his eyes on his daughter. "Is he Natsume Hyuuga?"

"Dad, he's just my friend." Hotaru's eyes rolled at this.

"A friend, huh?" His father suspiciously asked.

"Dad!"

"Wait a minute; did he drop you off here? Did he know?" Her mother inquired.

Mikan shook her head. "Don't worry, mom. I got off a few meters away from the house."

"By the way, why are you here?" Mikan obliviously asked to Hotaru. Hotaru drops by once in a week in their house to catch up with her parents so it surprised her. Not that she's glad her best friend was here.

"We're currently talking about the celebration tomorrow with her." So that's why Hotaru was excused from the school's activities…

Izumi nodded beside Yuka. "She will be a cover-up for tomorrow so that you could attend the party." The celebration just send invites to exclusive persons only. Surely, many would question on how she got an invitation to one of the elite parties ever held on Tokyo.

But this whole thing about Reo Mouri was driving her nuts. Every time, her security was the first priority. She can't do this and that.

"And also, we've decided that you will stay over at Hotaru's house today." She always slept over at Hotaru's house so it wasn't a problem. Even Hotaru's parents were delighted every time the brunette comes over at their house. They even turned one of their guest rooms to Mikan's room.

Mikan's eyes instantly sparkled. "A sleepover at Hotaru's house? Yay!" Talk about a 360-degree change of mood.

* * *

><p>"Why do I even need to attend <em>that<em> party?" Natsume complained as he wore his black tuxedo jacket.

Ruka resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Ever since Natsume had his rude awakening (literally) earlier, he would _whine_ every now and then on why he felt the need to attend such party.

"It's because your parents told you so."

"Can I just stay here at the house?" Gosh, his best friend is intolerable sometimes. He _acted_ and _sounded_ like a five-year-old kid! And the bastard himself cannot even realize it. So much for keeping his reputation as a badass…

"If you don't have motivation to attend the party, I'm going to inform you that Sakura's attending." This would always work whenever he would convince Natsume in going somewhere he absolutely detested.

Natsume chose to be indifferent about his statement. "…So what?" But Ruka knew he really looked forward to see Mikan in a dress.

"Come on, Natsume. Stop pretending that you don't like her."

"I'm not pretending. I don't really like her." He put his tie around his neck and started fastening it.

'_Your actions say otherwise.'_

"Damn it. This tie's killing me." Natsume irritatingly complained after he finished fastening his tie.

Ruka grabbed this opportunity to interrogate Natsume. "What if Mikan confessed that she likes you? What will you do? Will you accept her or not?"

"Why are you asking that kind of question?"

"Calm down, Natsume. I'm just saying what if."

Natsume stared at his best friend after putting his cufflinks on his tuxedo. "It's not like she will ever like me, right?"

Ruka got poker faced and ripped the book on his hand.

* * *

><p>Today's the day of the Yukihara Corporation's centennial celebration. Of course, this event was well prepared. Red carpets that hid the normal marble tiles tonight outside the entrance doors led guests to the event. Golden curtains decorated the ceiling-to-floor windows that swayed occasionally to let the moon's light illuminate the room.<p>

What occupied most of the room were the big, round tables, ensured to seat all the guests coming. The corporation expected the huge mass of guests attending the party. At both sides of the room were the buffet tables. Chocolate fountains and a sculpture of the Corporation's famous product that was in the middle of the room were one of the highlights of the event.

Outside, a Maybach Landaulet stopped near at the entrance of the hotel.

In all her glory, Hotaru Imai got off the car gracefully. After her was her rumored best friend, Mikan Sakura who made quite a stir after the media found out that she was the one who managed to befriend the cold-hearted Hotaru Imai that didn't let anyone close to her heart. Together, they entered the luxurious hotel where they held the event.

The aura that they gave off after entering was enough to make people turn their heads at them.

Yuka's face brightened when she saw her daughter arrive. She was going to welcome them when murmurs started spreading around her. "Gosh, why is she even here?"

"I know, right. She doesn't belong here."A random girl rudely commented while scrutinizing Mikan from head to toe.

"Why is that Mikan Sakura here? I thought this is a private party we're attending to, not a charity event."

Someone even had the guts to sneer behind her. "Hotaru Imai's her best friend. Of course she could have an invitation to one of the exclusive parties here in Tokyo."

Yuka curled her fists; her patience was running thin when she heard girls badmouthing her daughter. She badly wanted to tell them that she was her daughter, but complied against that idea. Especially if there were many dangers lurking around.

_Calm down Yuka, it's for Mikan's sake._

Someone grabbed her curled fist and kissed it. Someone was going to have a good beating whoever dared touch her when her nostrils caught a familiar scent. "Loosen up, honey."

She turned around and saw her husband, smiling down at her. She calmed down a little after seeing her husband's face. "I'm trying to, hon."

Thankfully, Hotaru steered Mikan out from the critical eyes of the invited guests' children and safely seated her with their other friends.

Izumi put his hand on her waist and guided her towards the backstage. "Don't worry about Mikan. She's going to be fine. Remember that she's a strong girl and she will not let anybody get into her head." Yuka suppressed the chuckle forming in her throat.

Her husband's right, she shouldn't worry about Mikan much. After all, her daughter got her attitude.

* * *

><p>"—And then she's like, <em>'I don't know what you're talking about,'<em> So I slap—Oh, hey Imai!" Sumire stopped ranting to Anna beside her when she saw one of her girlfriends walking near their table. Oh wait, make that _two_.

"Mikan! You're here!" Sumire exclaimed. That made the other occupants of the table look at what made Sumire brighten up.

"Oh, hey Mikan, hi Hotaru." The boys acknowledged them. They got surprised that Mikan's here. Nobody informed them that she was coming tonight. Well, at least she's here.

Hotaru and Mikan occupied the remaining seats. "What are you talking about earlier?"

Nonoko was the one who answered for her. "She got into another fight with Koko—_Again_." So that explained why Koko and Sumire were seated away from each other.

All of the gang was present. Even Natsume was surprisingly there.

As the night deepened, Sumire, Anna and Nonoko were talking animatedly about something Mikan can't quite follow so she decided to stay silent. She wanted to talk to Hotaru when she noticed that she was busy reading something with her gadgets. She knew not to disturb her when Hotaru was concentrated like that. Yuu stood up earlier to assist his parents while Kitsuneme and Koko also left the table, probably to make pranks with random people. Natsume and Ruka stayed at the table, occasionally talking every now and then.

Mikan noticed a little boy climbing on Natsume's lap. "Aw, how cute! Who is he?" She gushed.

The girls stopped chatting and looked at what she was talking. "You don't know him? He's Natsume's little brother." Getting bored, she decided to entertain the little boy. She stood up from her seat and went near him.

"What's your name?" She crouched down and leveled her face with his.

The other occupants of the table stopped what they were doing and looked at what will happen next. They knew what the little boy was capable of doing if ever someone tried to burst his personal bubble.

The boy pulled out something inside his jacket that looked awfully close to Thor's hammer and made contact with her head. That made Mikan sit on the floor due to the powerful impact the _toy_ hammer made against her head.

"Hag." The little boy stated impassively. From the corner of her eye, she saw Natsume smirk. And just when she thought that Natsume's getting nice…

Mikan got away from the boy and hid behind Hotaru.

The pranksters, Kitsuneme and Koko, got bored with doing their pranks, leaving their victims hot on their heels looking for them. So they decided to go back to their table when they saw what Natsume's little brother did. They started cracking up at the scene.

"Hotaruuu! Help! A mini-Natsume appeared!" Hotaru chose to ignore her and spent a little energy to roll her eyes.

Mikan heard Natsume mutter, "Stupid." To which, she pouted. For a minute there, she forgot that Natsume's attitude was unpredictable. She decided stay out of the boy's business and sat at her chair.

"Where's mom and dad?" Youichi asked Natsume as if nothing happened. His brother just answered with a shrug.

Mikan's parents also disappeared too without a word earlier but didn't think much about it. She saw her parents earlier running around, socializing with other people and taking care of other guests. Now that she thought about it, she can't see her parents anywhere.

She just decided to entertain herself by listening at the snippets of conversations around her.

"Oh, look. Luna Koizumi attended the party." Ruka pointed out to the occupants of the table.

"She hadn't attended classes since... Oh, I forgot how long her absence at the school was." Yuu commented who just got back sensing that the party's going to start.

Koko butted in. "School got boring without her. You know, without our favorite toy around."

The girls heard them too and spent some time looking at what the boys were talking about.

"Wait," Sumire's eyes flickered to Mikan's dress then at Luna's. "Oh my gosh! You two are wearing the same dress!"

Mikan's eyebrows furrowed. "Why, what's the problem?"

Anna answered for her. "Wearing the same clothes is a big no-no."

"It's not like something bad will happen, right?"

"She's Luna Koizumi, it's impossible that she wouldn't do anything about what you're wearing tonight." Nonoko stated.

Mikan discarded Nonoko's statement with a wave of her hand and stood up from her seat. "I'm just going to the bathroom, guys."

"Just don't come near that witch, Mikan!" Sumire reminded one of her girlfriends.

* * *

><p>Luna stared at Mikan in shock when her eyes flickered to her dress.<p>

She was wearing a sleeveless white dress ending at her knees with a satin self-tie belt around the waist and a camisole at the front. She also noticed Natsume stealing glances at Mikan every now and then although the idiot herself didn't notice it. It was obvious to everybody that Natsume liked what Mikan was wearing. It was the reason why the girls at the party sent some menacing stares at Mikan's direction.

Mikan caught the attention of their prince.

Luna may not admit it but she completely looked like an angel. She even noticed some guys at the party ogling at her. And while she, who was also wearing the same dress, didn't even managed to attract a guy.

Just thinking about it made Luna's blood boil.

Mikan affording an expensive dress was beyond her imagination. Knowing Mikan, it probably came from her heartless best friend, Hotaru Imai.

And the idiot even had a sponsor.

What does she think about herself? A celebrity?

This cannot happen. Only _she_ who would shine in that dress.

Her chance appeared when she saw Mikan stood up.

_It's now or never._

With that thought in mind, she grabbed a glass of orange juice from a passing waiter and strode near Mikan. She stopped in front of her and sneered before dumping the juice at Mikan.

It made her gasp from the cold liquid that made contact with her dress.

Luna heard the gasps coming from the people near them.

Mikan's jaw dropped and an appalled look decorated her features. It just made Luna smirk in victory.

"L—Luna…" She stuttered out and looked at her.

Luna folded her arms and looked pitifully at her dress. "I'm sorry, Mikan Sakura, I didn't know that you're there." She said; making sure that sarcasm was dripping on her voice.

The one who hated to see Mikan in the party sneered._ "Serves her right." _The culprit sensed that they wanted to do the same thing but because their parents were around, they couldn't do anything but stare in satisfaction Luna just made.

Her girlfriends came to her rescue when Mikan stopped them.

She smiled and shook her head. "Don't do something fishy." Hotaru grabbed Mikan's arm and entered a room not before sending a glare towards Luna.

Sumire gave her an once-over look and snorted. "White doesn't even fit you. You're _too_ _immoral_ to wear one." Koko grabbed her hand and dragged her away from Luna. "Wait! I'm not finished with her yet!" Her voice just echoed as she went far away from Luna.

* * *

><p>The dress that Mikan wore tonight accentuated her curves and its pasty white color emphasized her innocence. That's why Natsume can't help but glance at her direction from time to time. What made her more attractive were her make-up and her slightly curled hair that was let down tonight.<p>

_She's beautiful._ Natsume couldn't describe her in other words.

But the stunt that the dumb Koizumi pulled earlier was making his head scream for blood to spill around the room.

"Youichi." Natsume called his little brother who was still on his lap.

Natsume pointed at the fuming Luna. "See that hag over there? I want you to put this inside her dress," He gave Youichi a plastic worm toy. "Do you understand? If you do this successfully, I will give you a _sweet reward_ in return." Because Natsume was his role model, he complied with his demands.

Youichi started executing the plan, walking over to Luna. He hid the toy behind him and put up the most innocent look he would muster. "Luna onee-chan?" He knew her because she was one of those wild fan girls that followed his brother everywhere he went.

Luna turned around and her eyes sparked adoration towards him. "What can I do for you, Youichi?"

With puppy eyes that made girls hearts melt, he said, "Can you carry me like my mom used to?"

"Why would I refuse such a cute request?" She picked him up that made Youichi smirk behind her back. Before Luna could comprehend what was happening, she felt something crawling at her back every time she moved. "Look, onee-chan. There's a worm in your dress." Instantly, Luna screamed and dropped Youichi. Fortunately for him, he was expecting this and managed to land safely on his two feet. He sent a smirk at Natsume who was looking at him proudly.

Luna tried to remove the 'living thing' inside her own dress, but failed because her arm can't reach it. She unconsciously moved backwards unaware of the gigantic chocolate fountain behind. Because of that, she knocked out the fountain drenching her with its _chocolaty goodness_. Many people noticed what was happening, and instead of helping her, they laughed at the scene.

* * *

><p>"Look at Koizumi, making a mockery out of herself." Hotaru commented. She just finished changing Mikan's dress into a drier one. It was a good thing that there was a dressing room or else it would be a pain to stop by at her house.<p>

Mikan left her side and went towards Luna.

"Mikan." Hotaru tried stopped her. She fully knew what Mikan would do.

She just watched as Mikan helped Luna stand up and led her towards one of the rooms she entered earlier. Well, it can't be helped; it was Mikan's nature to help the people who are in need. Even if it means helping her worse enemy.

She shouldn't be surprised.

She came back to her seat and just shrug helplessly at Mikan's attitude.

* * *

><p>Kuonji felt his cell phone vibrated against his skin. He fished it out from his pockets and pressed the 'answer' button without looking at the caller ID.<p>

"_Shortie,"_ He didn't bother ask who the person on the other line was. Only _he _thathad the guts to call him that.

"_Everything's ready."_

"Get started." Kuonji smirked pleasantly and ended the call.

_It begins now._

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Passive voice just killed me. X_X Sorry for the anticlimax on the first scene, but I think it's too early to reveal Mikan's true identity.

**gakuen alice addict**: _BTW, I've noticed the way you love to torture Luna. Cut the poor girl some slack! I mean, haven't you read the newest chapter of Gakuen Alice! I mean, IT'S FINALLY OUT! :D _– Me ish not torturing her. Me ish just sticking to the plan. D: *coughs and returns to normal voice* I've read the newest chapter and I'll be lying if I wasn't crying the whole time I was reading it. _It was so sad and heartbreaking! _The tears just can't stop. T_T (Okay, I'm ranting now)

Oh and YES, LUNA. I hadn't noticed I was torturing her until you pointed it out. (OH MY GOSH, AM I THAT HEARTLESS?)

Anyways, Luna will have her happy ending if the right time comes. *Covers mouth* Nooo, I'm spoiling my own story! This ish not good!

**mikanatsume: **I think Luna is so fed up with Kuonji's ill intentions towards the Academy that's why she did that. About the two protagonists, Yes dear, I also hope they will :(. I mean, they have to create little Natsume and little Mikan, right?

for** A: **Oh stop it, will you! *playfully hits arm* I'm actually grinning like a Cheshire cat the whole time I was reading your review. On the other hand, perhaps you're planning to post it on Wattpad? *Sighs* Yeah, I know how that feels. I'm also an impatient person. That's why the very moment I finished the first chapter of this story, I posted it on FFN. But really, I'm delighted about your review.

Because of that heartfelt review you gave me, it fueled my desire more to update this story. Remember, my inspiration comes solely from the readers.

**Scott g: **Glad that you've noticed! As for your questions, that will be answered in a few chapters. *winks*

**angelcheonsa****: **You asked for it! Now bear the 5000-word-update. *grins*

**For all the silent readers out there, please review! Don't be afraid! Hardcore Chocolate Lover doesn't eat people. :D**


	13. Red Alert

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Gakuen Alice or its characters.

**Dedicated to:** All the readers who still read this story. :}

**Warning:** Curses, anyone?

* * *

><p><strong>Heir, Heiress<strong>

**Chapter 13:** Red Alert

* * *

><p>Luna slapped her hand away harshly. "Don't touch me with your filthy hands."<p>

"Luna…" Mikan muttered.

"Acting like the hero again?" She snorted. "Don't make it obvious to everyone that you're an angel."

"But…"

She raised her hands to stop Mikan from saying anything more. "I could handle myself. Do you think I'm a weakling like you?" Luna sneered. She wandered her sight at the stunning dresses hanging from the intricate designed cabinets at every corners of the room that mostly occupied it. She picked a dress liked she owned the place and looked smugly at Mikan.

"I'm taking this." She entered the dressing room. She appeared shortly looking clean and elegant.

"Wow… that dress… definitely suits you." Mikan praised her.

Luna snorted and flipped her hair. She dumped her dress with chocolate somewhere at the room.

"I don't need that piece of garbage anyways." She mumbled.

As she was walking towards Mikan, she caught sight of a wooden stick at her side. She didn't know why it was doing there but she had a brilliant plan. She picked a random dress from one of the cabinets. Afterwards, she shoved it at Mikan.

Mikan looked at it curiously before looking back at her again. "Uh… What's this for?"

"Change in that dress."

"Why?"

"Because," She drawled, taking the time to think of a reason. "—I don't like what you're wearing."

When Mikan just stood there like an idiot, she continued talking in an annoyed tone. "Do you want us to be friends or not?"

"So, if I wear this dress, we will be friends?" Mikan chirped happily. Luna nodded. Instantly, a smile spread across Mikan's face. She entered the dressing room available on the room and proceeded on wearing the dress.

Luna snorted and crossed her arms. "Stupid." She looked back at the dressing room Mikan was in and picked up the stick. She exited the room quietly and put the stick in between the door's handle. She backed away from the door and grinned satisfactorily.

Little did she know that action she made would get her into trouble.

* * *

><p>Reo and Persona finally arrived in front of the hotel. Hats completely covered their faces. They wore jackets that ended below their knees. Their clothing made the guards suspicious.<p>

They stopped them from going in. "Where are your invitations, sir?"

Reo looked at his partner. "I didn't know we have to give invitations to them."

The other guard looked suspiciously at them. "Where are your invitations, sir?" He repeated. Reo smirked at him and sent a punch across his face.

Reo even managed to wave at the surveillance camera at the top of the entrance door before shooting it with his silencer.

Reo stared at the guards lying at his feet. "If I knew that their security is this useless then I wouldn't have brought my gun."

Persona sneered behind him. "Don't be that confident in your skills, detainee." They removed the hats and coats they were wearing, revealing their formal attires.

They continued entering the hotel and went to find Mikan Sakura.

Reo took his time to admire the hotel's structures. "As expected from the Yukiharas…"

"We need to hurry up, detainee. Let's go."

They checked every room that they could open. When Reo noticed a room where a stick was stuck in the door handle, he called Persona and pointed at the door. Persona nodded and went towards him.

Someone pounded the door on the other side. _"Uh… Helloo? Luna? Is somebody there?"_ Reo smirked satisfactorily.

_It's her._

He and Persona shared glances and opened the door.

* * *

><p>Hotaru's eyes widened slightly. She saw the intruders at the entrance. Her eyes scanned the room, looking for Mikan. She remembered that she was helping Luna from one of the rooms.<p>

Realizing that, she stood up from her seat and went towards at that room.

Suddenly, the lights went out, darkness covered the room. Thankfully, the hotel had a generator but the room was still a little dim. Hotaru's can't see anything clearly in a mass of people. Her pulse quickened. She used one of her gadgets to see the way towards the dressing room.

When she arrived at the dressing room, she saw a stick lying in front of it. She opened the door and the fear that crawled back in her head a moment ago when she saw the footage of the intruders kept on coming back.

Mikan's not there.

She caught sight of the dress Mikan was wearing earlier laying somewhere on the room. She remembered the tracker put in the earrings that she made Mikan wear. She hurriedly went back on her table and opened her laptop to check if Mikan's still in the vicinity.

Her eyes widened and immediately reached for her phone to call Mikan's parents. After they answered, she informed them in a frightful voice that she hadn't done in years. "Mikan's not in the hotel."

"_Well, where is she?"_

"I think she's kidnapped, auntie."

"_You think? Hotaru, this is a serious problem! There's no room for making conclusions as dangerous as that!"_

Hotaru inhaled deeply. "Okay, she's kidnapped."

"_What makes you so sure about that?"_

"She's meters away from the hotel. There's no way she could reach there in the matter of time she disappeared. In other words, she is in a car, but we all know she can't drive."

She heard a gasp from the other line. _"Goodness, if you just said that from the start… Wait, What? Ho—Honey… I-I think …" _A rustle from the other line and a different voice greeted Hotaru's ears. _"I'm going to cancel the party while you contact the police. Let's meet later when the hotel's cleared."_

"Yes, uncle." She ended the call and proceeded to follow Izumi's order.

* * *

><p>Izumi went on the stage and grabbed the microphone. "Can I have your attention everybody? I'm informing you that the party's stopped short due to… some serious inconvenience. I'm sorry that the party's going to end early but we have no other choice but to do this. I apologize again for abruptly stopping the celebration." He bowed to the audience and left the stage.<p>

Murmurs and groans started filling the room. The party was just getting started and they cancelled it. Of course, who wouldn't be disappointed?

Others stood up from their respective seats and made their way towards the exit. Glad to leave the damned place.

"Hey, have you seen Imai-san?" Yuu asked to the occupants of their table. They were also starting to get out of the place, biding goodbyes to each other and whatsoever.

"I hadn't seen Mikan-chan around too." Nonoko added.

"She's with Koizumi earlier, right? What's taking her long?"

"You don't think… Koizumi did something bad to her?" This got Natsume's attention. He stood up from his seat. His parents went to pick Youichi earlier so he had no distractions as of the moment.

"Where are you going, Natsume?" Koko asked.

Natsume replied without looking back at him. "Bathroom." But they knew he was going to find Mikan.

In truth, he wasn't going to find Mikan. He was going to look for someone else. When he found what he was looking for around the enormous hotel, he grabbed her arm and immediately asked, "Where's Mikan?"

Hotaru stoically looked at the hand that was holding her arm before looking at the person. She harshly shrugged off his hold on her and glared him. "Hyuuga, what the hell?" She pulled out something that looked like an alcohol bottle from her bag and sprayed it at her arm.

"Where. Is. She?" He asked again in a demanding tone.

"Do you care about her?"

That made Natsume silent. Of course, he _does_ care for her. He has every fucking right to. After all, he loves Mikan. But hell would he tell Hotaru about that.

"…Just tell me if she's safe or not." He started in a soft voice, almost like a whisper.

He saw Hotaru slanted her eyes before answering in a practiced voice—the tone she uses every time she sells those good-for-nothing-gadgets of hers. "She's perfectly fine." She said through gritted teeth.

That's all it took Natsume to know Mikan's condition.

_She's not safe._

* * *

><p>"Mother." Natsume called out.<p>

His mother, Kaoru Hyuuga, turned around towards him. "Oh there you are, Natsume. Let's go." She started walking away when Natsume spoke again.

"Can I stay with Ruka tonight?" He lied. In truth, he was going to find Mikan. He was worried as hell about her.

Kaoru slanted her eyes. "No, you're going home."

"But… I always did this with Ruka and you're fine with it. Why are you opposing it all of a sudden?"

She sighed frustratingly. "Just… not today, Natsume. Please." Something in her eyes tell him that what he was about to do was dangerous. And he wasn't really telling her what he was about to do.

Natsume groaned dejectedly. "Fine." His mother smiled before walking away with him, making sure he did.

Izumi caught a glimpse of Natsume Hyuuga just in time before the double doors closed before sighing out in relief. They were the last ones to leave the hotel.

After all the commotion, he, his wife, and the Imai gathered in a private room at the hotel. He then turned to the youngest Imai in the room.

"Could you track her down again?" Izumi desperately asked while biting his thumbnail.

"The tracker got broken and I think I know why. The kidnappers must've found out about the earrings and destroyed it." Hotaru answered him while typing rapidly on her laptop.

"Is there any other way?" Yuka inquired.

"The necklace Mikan is wearing is also a device. Unfortunately, it just picks up conversations around the wearer. It has no trackers or whatsoever. In other words, it is just a harmless device."

Izumi breathed out. "I didn't know Imai Corporation's gadgets are this useless." He spat out in anger.

Hotaru gritted her teeth. Izumi's right, the gadget she made Mikan wear was useless. Mikan got caught easily because of her. It was frustrating her that she cannot do anything to save her best friend. She's useless without her gadgets.

She's a failure.

Yuka intertwined her fingers with her husband. "Honey, calm down, it wasn't their fault; it's our own that our daughter's kidnapped. Let's not blame each other, please?" Izumi breathed in deeply.

Yuka looked at them with apologetic eyes. "I'm sorry. Izumi is just frustrated that we have no leads with the kidnapper. On the contraire on what he said, you helped us enough with the use of your gadgets. We will be forever in your debt."

Ai, Hotaru's mother nodded. "Don't worry, it's okay."

The room got silent when the device Hotaru put on Mikan picked up a conversation.

"What is that?"

"The tracker's picking up conversation." Hotaru explained while typing fast on her laptop. The voices got louder and clearer. She then backed away so that all of the occupants of the room could hear it.

"_Shortie will get loaded after we got the money. The part that I don't get is why he needs the ransom. I mean they're rich right?"_

"_That man is greedy, what part of it don't you understand?"_

A silence ensued, followed by a sound of something hitting against a surface.

"_All this time I'm wondering who this girl's parents are. The most confusing part is that she managed to befriend an Imai. Imai—Greedy—Doesn't—Wa—To—"_

All they heard was static sounds. The conversation stopped like that.

"What happened?" Yuka asked with her eyebrows furrowed.

"They must've found out about the bug or someone is calling them. The bug I inserted in Mikan is just a sample. The signals from cell phones distract the bug from picking up conversations." Hotaru explained to them.

"I wonder; if they didn't know that Mikan is a Yukihara, what is the reason she's kidnapped?" Izumi asked the unspoken question that stunned them all.

As if answering his question, Ai's, Hotaru's mother, cell phone rang.

They saw her skin pale and put her conversation in the phone in loudspeaker mode.

"_Do you know me?"_ They heard a soft chuckle from the other line. _"Of course not. But you should know that I'm your worst nightmare."_

"Just get straight to the point."

"_Impatient, are we? I have Hotaru Imai's best friend. I want fifteen million yen if you want to see her best friend still alive."_

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Sorry if it's rushed. School started last June and my mom prohibited me from surfing the internet on weekdays. T_T I don't know when I will update but for sure, there would be. I'm not giving up on this story. I've gone too far to stop.

For all the readers who reviewed my last chapter, thank youuu very much!

For the silent readers out there, thank you also!

The questions that could/would be answered on the next chapter: Does Luna knows that her father is involved in the kidnapping? Moreover, does she know that Mikan's kidnapped? Why did they kidnap Mikan if they didn't know she is a Yukihara? Why did the kidnappers call the Imais, not the Yukiharas? And the last one, why does it look like Natsume knows something? (If you look back on the past chapters, you'll see that there's definitely something fishy going on)

**Watch out for the next chapter! :)**


	14. Anxiousness

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Gakuen Alice or its characters.

* * *

><p><strong>Heir, Heiress<strong>

**Chapter 14:** Anxiousness

* * *

><p>"Fifteen million yen?! I just can't pick that huge sum of money easily!" Izumi paced out around the room, biting his lip every now and then. Even Yuka didn't make an effort to calm him down; she herself was also frenzied about the whole thing.<p>

"I will not say 'relax' because I know you will not." Hotaru's mother stated as she sipped on a porcelain cup calmly.

Izumi fleetingly glanced at her before looking back at the floor. "I could deposit Fifteen million yen. But in an hour? No way."

"Hotaru how's the police?" Yuka asked to divert her fretting husband's condition, even just for a minute to make his head cool off a little bit.

Hotaru clicked her tongue. "Like any other dramas on the television, the kidnappers wish not to call the police."

"It's like they would know, right?" Yuka said the last part undoubtedly.

Hotaru, in return, shrugged her head. "The kidnappers planned this well. They had connections with the police. And the bigger ups at that."

"What?"

"They believed that it's just a sham. So they ignored it. Even if I introduced myself, they wished not to acknowledge the problem. I put some listening devices to make sure and I found out that they're working with an unknown man. I'm trying to extract information on them, though."

"What do we do now?"

"As of the moment, keep this issue hidden from the public. No matter what the circumstances are, _do not_ leak any information regarding the kidnapping." Izumi stated when he decided to sit, also tired from pacing around the room aimlessly.

"We understand."

"And Yuka, call the bank to withdraw fifteen million yen. Say that I need it ASAP and I will no longer attend to their services if they hadn't prepared the money in less than an hour."

* * *

><p>"Is Mikan sick? She's not attending school for two straight days already." Sumire asked the moment she spotted Hotaru walking on the hallway.<p>

Hotaru replied her with a nod. "Don't worry, she's getting better." She lied.

"Can we go see her?" Hotaru impassively looked at Sumire. No one else knew about Mikan's kidnapping, even her closest friends. Izumi wished not to inform them to avoid ruckus. Hotaru couldn't agree more. Knowing Mikan's group of friends, they would do anything just to search for her, even if it means using their power.

"Sadly, you can't. Her disease is infectious so her mother prohibited any person visiting her. It's for the good of her condition." She lied smoothly, as if all she said were true.

Sumire pouted. "I guess next time then."

"I'll go. Thanks, Hotaru." Hotaru nodded and proceeded to go to her next class. Luna and she share the next class that she looked forward to have.

And no, she wasn't considering Luna as a friend. Instead, she was treating her as an enemy.

A suspect to Mikan's kidnapping.

Hotaru was watching a close eye on Luna. Based on the facts that she had accumulated these past days, Luna always bite her nails while she dozes off into space and judging how precious her perfectly painted nails are to her, something's bothering her.

Now, it was the time to confront her.

As she entered the room, she immediately went to Luna's table. "Speak."

To make Luna submissive to her request, she took out her shiny baka gun and pointed it at Luna's hands. "Speak or you will have nothing to bite."

Luna instantly hid her hands behind her back. "I-I don't know what you're talking about, Imai." She replied, avoiding Hotaru's intense glare at her.

Hotaru pointed the gun at the ceiling and fired, startling everyone at the room not just because of the sudden shoot but also because of the dent left by the bullet. Hotaru pointed it back to her, this time on her face.

Luna raised her hands in surrender, looking at Hotaru guiltily. "I swear I didn't mean it. I-I didn't want to trap her on that dressing room—"

"Wait," Hotaru lowered the gun but still held on it in case something happened. "—You trapped her on that room?" Hotaru would've made revenge on Luna but finding Mikan was her first priority.

"Y-Yeah."

"Is that _all_ you did?" She stressed out the 'all' in her inquiry, implying something.

"Did something more than that happened that I don't know of?" Luna continued. Hotaru saw the truthfulness in her eyes and she knew she was not exactly lying.

Hotaru snapped out of her reverie and glared fiercely at her. "It's none of your business." She spat out and left the blonde's table.

Positively, Luna's not the one responsible for Mikan's kidnapping. Because of that, she had no leads on whoever the culprit may be. It just drove Hotaru to the edge.

_Who could possibly be Mikan's captor?_

* * *

><p>"Cheater! You-you tricked me!" Reo exclaimed as Persona rolled his eyes. They were playing solitaire at a table with a few empty beers settled beside the cards.<p>

Persona shrugged that meaningless accusation and looked at his wristwatch. "It's time for lunch."

And just like that, Reo's predicament earlier disappeared. "We should feed her now." He said as he glanced at his back, where he could see their victim, tied with a chair.

Persona crossed his arms and looked intently at Reo, conveying something with his eyes.

Reo raised his arms. "No way am I going to cook! I don't know how to do it."

"Fine." Persona said defiantly and stood up, making the chair scrape against the floor. Minutes later, the smell of something delicious surrounded the whole room. Persona entered the room with a plate on his hands.

"Since I'm the one that cooked, you feed it to her." Persona said as he brought the plate closer to Reo.

"I'll be glad to, but shortie assigned me to run an errand." Reo was opening the door while saying that.

"Sheesh." Persona helplessly muttered as he heard the door closing. He went to Mikan and went on his knees. He removed the gag that was preventing her from talking. He scooped up a big serving and fed it to her. He didn't know it was too much until he saw her coughing violently.

Persona, his first time coming across this problem, grabbed an unopened beer that his arm could reach out and gave it to her. Mikan stared at it and looked at him weirdly.

"What the fuck—a beer? You know she's underage." Reo commented on the sidelines, frantic when he saw Mikan choking.

"Then go fetch a damn water!" Persona didn't mind the fact that he went back to the house again. Reo scurried on his feet and went to the kitchen. Seconds later, they could hear Reo exclaiming, "How the hell don't we have water in this house?"

He reappeared in front of them as soon as he heard him shout. "I'll go and buy some water outside."

"She is choking and you expect me to wait for that?" Mikan coughed violently again that left the two more agitated.

Reo looked at her one last time before sighing resignedly. "Fine. I give up." As soon as he said that, Persona opened the beer bottle and made Mikan drink it. The two of them knows that they're going to get in trouble for this but they don't have a choice.

Mikan finally calmed down and Reo took it into his own hands to feed her or else another predicament might have happened again.

"Good thing we avoided it or it could lead to death." Reo sighed in relief after Mikan ate her lunch.

Persona snorted, cynical of the information he heard from his worthless partner. "Choking? I didn't know it could kill someone."

"I read it on the internet so that makes it authentic."

"Internet? What's that?" Persona furrowed his eyebrows, clueless of the new word he just came across.

Reo raised a brow. "Did you live on a cave or something? You don't know what an internet is?"

Persona shrugged. "Well, it's close to that."

Reo sent him a weird look. "Really?"

In response to his question, he nodded. "Kuonji made me avoid the media or anything from the outside world. All I know that I've been doing for the past years are just waking up, studying, and eating then sleeping again."

"You had a pretty boring life there."

Persona shrugged again. "Yeah, it sucks."

* * *

><p>Izumi Yukihara cannot sleep last night because he was so worried about Mikan's condition. Questions ran to his mind. <em>"Are the kidnappers feeding her well?"<em> _"Is she treated nicely?"_ _"Is she in good condition?"_

He hoped that she was perfectly fine wherever she was. All the happenings going around made him stressed and now, there was something adding to all of his headaches. He spat out his coffee when he saw the headlines of the morning newspaper he was reading.

**HOTARU IMAI'S BESTFRIEND KIDNAPPED**

_Hotaru Imai, the elusive heir to the Imai Corporations owned by her parents, was seen entering the double doors of the five-star, Zircon Hotel with her rumored best friend, Mikan Sakura to attend the exclusive Yukihara Corporation's centennial celebration. After the party, Miss Mikan Sakura was nowhere to be seen with Hotaru Imai. We later concluded that these two friends fought that would have made this article on the showbiz section. But from a call from a reliable source, we later found out that Mikan Sakura was kidnapped by some unknown men. The reason wasn't clear—_

He stopped reading after that. It was the front-page news, along with a picture of Hotaru and Mikan sitting together at the hotel. Seeing the story fueled his anger because the newspaper was the Amethyst Bulletin.

It was one of the Imai Corporation's chain businesses.

"Maria! Hand me the phone!" He shouted. Seconds later, an old looking, stout woman with fair skin tone went beside him and handed him a black phone. She later left briefly when he received it.

Izumi punched in a series of numbers he memorized long ago and put the receiver on his ear. He tapped his long fingers impatiently at the wooden dining table, as every ring would pass by.

When the ringing had stopped, he immediately spoke. "How did this happen? How did _this_ happen?" Izumi's grip on the phone tightened. "—I told everyone to keep this issue a secret. But why did the story get published? Your _own_ paper at that huh, Serina Ai Imai?"

He heard a sigh from the other line. _"We put the CFO in charge temporarily to handle the business ever since we received the news that Mikan's kidnapped. It's to minimize our distractions to track her down. The news that is published on our newspaper starting last Monday wasn't checked by us."_

"Then who wrote that story? This wasn't supposed to go public! Did you—"

"_Will you calm down just for once?"_ There was a hint of venom in her voice but Izumi didn't pay any heed to it, blinded by anger. _"Your wife is not only worrying about Mikan, but she's also worrying about your state too. I know that we have no leads for the moment for your daughter's kidnapping. But please, for the sake of everyone around you, CALM. THE. FUCK. DOWN."_

Izumi winced at her language. But he can't deny that she's right. _"I haven't told anyone about Mikan's kidnapping and I don't know who the hell told my people about that. But if you really want to know, I'll track it down immediately."_

"No thanks. I just wanted to know if you're really behind this."

"_We have been friends for a long time and it's quite offensive on my part to accuse me something you know I can't do."_

Izumi sighed tiredly. "I'm sorry, it's just… I'm very concerned about Mikan's safety. She's the only daughter I have and I can't afford losing her."

"…"

"Serina? Are you still there?"

"_I understand you. Don't worry, we'll find her very soon. I will broaden the search area and I think I have to get working." _She ended the call without a proper goodbye. Izumi removed the phone from his ear and smiled. It was nice to know that there were still people sticking around him at the time where he was troubled.

It was good to know that he still have friends.

* * *

><p>Natsume just woke up and he wasn't exactly feeling well. It didn't help that it was a Wednesday and he had to go to school.<p>

He put his hand on his forehead and groaned. Today's not really his day. He proceeded to go down the stairs to eat something, hoping that it could make him feel a little better.

He was grabbing the bread across him when he noticed the rolled newspaper beside his plate. He was reading newspapers for the fun of it, but now, his mind was everywhere so he decided to skip reading newspapers today.

Eating wasn't really making his mood get better so he stood up and left the dining room. "I'm going out for a walk." Natsume declared to the head maid and left the mansion even before he could get an answer. It was still early to go to school anyways.

When he passed by the enormous gates, he pulled the hood of his jacket and put his hands on the pockets. He didn't bother driving on his Black Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren because he wasn't on the mood to drive. He wanted to feel the breeze outside for a change to clear his mind a little bit.

He didn't decide where he was going so he was just walking aimlessly.

Mikan's the whole reason for his dilemma right now. His favorite brunette made him worry. She hadn't attended classes for a while now and, as much as he hated to admit it, he's missing her.

Knowing Mikan, she would not try to skip school, as she has to see her wide range of friends, except if she had a bad sickness that required her to rest and stay home. He had heard from Hotaru that Mikan caught an infectious disease, the reason for his agitation.

He didn't realize he was walking around the bustling streets of the city until he felt the growing number of people around him. His surroundings got much louder because of people chatting around him and the cars swiftly passing by.

It was enough to distract him from his thoughts going haywire.

But not long enough.

His gaze spotted a figure not far where he was standing.

Actually, make those_ two _figures.

He saw Mikan, the subject of his thoughts, at a dark alley… with an unknown redhead.

No, he had seen the man. It was the person he saw when he picked Mikan at the waiting shed.

From that moment on, he knew he sensed danger.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>This chapter's rushed, I know. I just finished this typing today so that's the cause of it. My schedule's hectic for me nowadays. With the examinations coming up, I think the next update will be on next month or two. But I promise I'll make it up to you, if ever you're still reading this fic.


	15. Secrets

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Gakuen Alice or its characters.

* * *

><p><strong>Heir, Heiress<strong>

**Chapter 15: **Secrets

* * *

><p><strong>Two Hours Ago<strong>

Three hours had passed since the deadline the kidnappers gave them. Yuka, Izumi, Serina and Hotaru immediately met again after the newspaper crisis happened. Serina told Hotaru to stay out of this as this was an issue between the adults but her daughter was persistent on helping. In the end, Serina can't do anything but watch Hotaru work on her gadgets to track Mikan.

Serina glanced at a remote corner, she watched as Yuka almost finished stacking the paper bills on the big, bulky cases. Izumi busied himself drowning into cups of coffees. The occupants of the room all stopped what they were doing when the phone beside Serina rang. Serina looked at the ringing phone before looking back at Izumi and Yuka. They gave her an encouraging nod and Serina answered the phone. She turned it into loudspeaker mode so that everybody could hear their conversation.

"Yes?"

"_You broke the deal, Imai." _So, they found out about the newspaper.

"You just said that we will not call the police. You didn't say that we can't proclaim it to the whole world," Serina tried to defend herself.

She heard a growl from the other line. _"Don't be damn stubborn or else the girl will die. Remember, we're the one holding her life here."_

Serina sighed as her grip on the phone tightened. "Fine." She glanced meaningfully at Hotaru, a look that asks if everything was going well on the process of tracking Mikan, which she nodded in reply.

"_Don't use your gadgets on this one, Imai."_

Serina kept her cool and lied smoothly. "We aren't using it."

"_Don't lie to me, you think we're stupid? You think we're that dumb to challenge a woman like you? We're prepared for this, Imai; we planned this for so long to make this crime flawless."_

How the hell—

The person from the other line chuckled bitterly and afterwards, they heard a gun being shot.

"No!" she cried out.

"_That's just a warning shot, Imai. Don't worry, she's safe… for now,"_ the line ended like that which made them restless.

Hotaru removed the headphone from her ears and looked at Serina. "I couldn't track them. The call ended even before I got the area code."

"We don't have a choice, let's stop tracking Mikan now. If we continue doing that, Mikan would be in perilous danger," Izumi said as he continued sipping his coffee but his hands were shaking.

Hotaru bit her lip and hesitantly pressed something on her laptop. The gadget finally died and Hotaru closed it. Afterwards, Hotaru nodded at Serina. "What are we going to do now? It's a dead end. If we continue following the kidnappers' command, we have no assurance that they would not kill Mikan," Serina concluded.

Yuka stopped stacking and stood up. "Is there any other way? Can we call for help at the higher ups of the country? That's possible, right?" It's funny, they held the most power in Japan yet they were wrapped around the fingers of Mikan's kidnappers.

Hotaru shook her head. "The kidnappers have a way of finding out what we are exactly doing. Although I still wonder how they don't acknowledge the presence of the Yukihara family. Could be they're pretending or they are completely oblivious about it."

"Doing this with just the four of us is a tiresome task. We are bound to get help from someone later," Izumi shrugged about the disturbing possible theory Hotaru said as he said this.

"The question is, who?" That direct question coming from Yuka was enough to silence them all. It was broken when Izumi's phone rang. He excused himself from the conversation and answered the call.

"It could be possible that someone is an insider. Either it's that or there's a bug planted here," Serina suggested half-heartedly. Mindless chattering and impossible theories followed up after that, none of it felt closer to the truth.

"Yuka," Izumi worriedly glanced at her wife as he brought down his phone. "It's the CFO at the New York branch, Shiki Masachika. If we don't return there any time this week, the production of things will be slower. We still have to report to the board of directors, the CFO just told me he couldn't handle everything by himself. The company's a mess and—"

Yuka took a deep breath and closed her eyes momentarily. "I understand. I will be the one going back. I know I could handle everything there. You're the one staying here in Japan to report me about Mikan's condition." Izumi can't do anything but to agree to his wife.

Serina got enraged at her reply. "Your daughter's kidnapped and you still care more about the company?"

Yuka sent a glare towards her direction. "My daughter's my first priority. Who are you to tell me that? I'll try to get help there at New York to solve this problem, if I could make it in time. I'll do anything just to have my daughter back," she retorted as she grabbed her coat hanging from the coat rack.

"I know I didn't do anything worthy in this case but I swear; I'm going to find a solution to this problem. Mikan's far more important than my life. I'm not giving up," she said lastly as she left the room.

* * *

><p><strong>Present Time<strong>

Acting on instinct, Natsume ran stealthily at them and launched an attack on the redhead's stomach. It caught the redhead off guard. Natsume readied himself on a fighting stance. From the man's back, he could see Mikan shaking her head. That got him confused, stalling enough as the man pulled something from his long trench coat.

It was a gun with a silencer.

"Natsume!" Mikan cried out.

Before he could comprehend what was happening, the man pointed the gun at him and pulled the trigger. After that, he felt a painful jab on his stomach.

The man successfully shot him. But that wasn't enough to make Natsume unconscious, much to the redhead's chagrin. He put his hand on his stomach, frowning as blood gushed out. It was a lot compared to what he expected.

"Natsume you idiot!" Mikan tried to go near him but the redhead sent her a glare.

"Stay back, girlie. I got this."

"If you really want to live, step back and leave us alone," the redhead proclaimed. Natsume stayed still on his position, but failed because of the bullet piercing his insides.

Well, Natsume could be stubborn sometimes.

Instead of obeying the man, he tried to land a punch on the man but failed. His accuracy on throwing punches decreased because of his injury. The wound on his stomach wasn't helping either, in fact; it only got worse. Every time he moved, the wound would get more painful.

"Persistent bastard..." he heard the redhead mutter.

"Natsume, just give up, you idiot! Can't you see your condition now? It's making me feel more miserable now that I dragged you to this mess. Please, just give up," Mikan pleaded which made Natsume growl.

"...Who are you to call me idiot, idiot? That... nickname better... suits you...," he faintly muttered as he slowly descended the floor. The reply he got was incessant cries coming from her.

"I'm sorry, Mikan. I couldn't... protect you... I'm not strong enough..." When he felt that he couldn't stand anymore, he knew he had to give up. He leaned his head back at the cold cement floor, not caring if it was dirty. He could still hear Mikan's hysterical wailing because of too much crying. The sound of her pained voice lulled him to sleep.

Reo raised his gun again. Mikan widened her eyes when she knew exactly what he would do. She moved just in time to avoid Natsume getting another injury that could cost his life.

"What the hell!" Reo shouted. He shrugged off Mikan's grip on his arm and raised his gun again. He wouldn't risk the danger of getting into prison again especially if the kid saw his face. Damn, he should've followed Persona's example wearing a facemask.

Reo grabbed both of her hands to calm her down. If she obeyed everything the kidnappers told her to do, this time, she wouldn't. Not after seeing Natsume get shot. She thrashed violently and screamed, hoping that someone would hear her, although she also knew that nobody would in that deserted alley.

"Quit moving, will you?" he commanded to the girl. But she didn't listen.

"You left me with no choice." And before she could comprehend what was happening, he punched her in the stomach.

When Reo heard the sound of sirens coming near his place, he knew he had to flee the scene. He raised his gun again and went on to pull the trigger. Unfortunately, he was out of bullets. He didn't have enough time to reload. Looking at Natsume Hyuuga's unconscious—_or dead_—body made him edgy. He carried Mikan's body like a sack of potato and almost fell down on the floor when her weight surprised him.

Damn, the girl's too heavy. Reo wondered how she was heavy when she's just a size of a thirteen-year-old teenager.

'_She eats too much,'_ Reo mused.

Either that was the reason or he was getting older.

He grunted when he adjusted the body hanging from his shoulder and ran—_more like tried_—to avoid the authorities. He knew that it wasn't the police because Kuonji had connections with them. Unless that bastard decided to plan something fishy and get revenge on him for all the times, he called him 'shortie'.

He went to his car and put her sleeping body at the passenger's seat at the back. He opened the car's engine and went on for a few miles away from the alley. He stopped at a secluded place. After he parked the vehicle safely, he picked up his phone from his pocket and dialed his partner, Persona. He answered after a few rings.

"Persona, I encountered a problem while I was delivering the girl. Natsume Hyuuga, you know him, right? Well, he saw us and tried to fight me. In the end, he was unconscious there... or dead, I don't know. I left him."

"_Why did you leave him there? Someone could see him and send him to the nearest hospital. Your cover could have been blown."_

"There's another problem, an ambulance or a police, I don't know, but it was coming near our place. I didn't think clearly, okay? What should I do now?" Reo frantically said.

Persona sighed from the other line. _"Wait for my back up. We'll have to meet later. I'll ask Kuonji if I can be the one sending the girl. Just don't do anything funny and wait for my signal. Be extra careful because Japan knows the girl's kidnapped." _The line ended abruptly. Reo obeyed what his partner said. At his state of mind right now, all he could do was listen to his ally's commands.

It was years after he shot an individual. He was a criminal before then. Spending his time on the prison must have built his guilt doing a crime. Yes, he felt guilty shooting a person. A boy, nonetheless. But he had to do it or else his fate would suffer. He didn't want to spend his life on prison again.

But, the guilt was too much for him to bear.

"You're a criminal in the past, why are you feeling like this, Reo?" he said to himself as he leaned his head back at his seat. What was really his problem? Was he finally seeing the wrongdoings he did in his life? Or did he drank too much beer that's why he thought like this?

No, he slowly changed. From the start, he knew what they were doing was wrong, very wrong. Then why did he accept the bait? Because he wanted out. Kuonji provided him the desire he wanted. He knew getting in touch with the devil would get him scorched. In the end, people had to suffer because of this selfish want.

He glanced at Mikan's sleeping form before sighing. "I'm sorry," he sullenly uttered.

He knew he was too late to back out now. He had gotten too far and failing the only devil he knew would cost his life. Kuonji might be short but Reo could read from his eyes that he could kill an individual. He was too meek compared to Kuonji. In fact, he could do this task with just himself only. However, someone had to do the dirty works for him or his corporation would suffer. Reo would never know how the high-class human beings work.

* * *

><p>Ruka glanced at the emergency room for the umpteenth time now. They were in the middle of a class when he received this news. Apparently, it was all over the internet. Social networking sites were the bridges on how everyone found out about Natsume's condition. From what resource it came from, they didn't know. At first, Ruka thought of it as a joke when he read it on his phone but when he received the news directly from his mother, he rushed to where Natsume was, not caring if Jinno was in the middle of a lecture.<p>

Memories flashed right through Ruka's eyes. The times where the two of them would spend time together, the hardships they had gone through, all of it. All of his memories he could remember with Natsume. Natsume became too important to his life that he wouldn't bear the pain of losing him.

Even though Natsume's attitude was like that, Ruka knew he cared deeply for the people he considered important. If Ruka hadn't fallen out of love with Mikan, Natsume would forget his feelings for her just to give way for him. He would show his affection at the oddest ways possible because he couldn't freely express himself. That's how Natsume loved everyone around him. He was selfless; he would sacrifice everything he had at the benefit of another.

Losing him would be like losing half of him. That was how Ruka would feel if the operation wouldn't turn out successful. Natsume was too young to die. He had many things to fulfill. First, he had to make Mikan know how he truly felt about her. But, if he would die at this moment, would that happen?

Ruka shook his head. No, he shouldn't be thinking negative thoughts. It was too destructive to his mind. He should be positively thinking that Natsume would live.

Yes, Natsume would live; he was a fighter after all.

After what seemed like hours, the doctor in charge of Natsume emerged from the room. He removed his mask and looked intently at them to bring the news. "We successfully removed the bullet from his system. He just needs enough rest to restore his energy. All we need to do is waiting for him to wake up." Enthusiastic responses filled the hallway coming from Natsume's family and close friends as soon as he finished his last sentence.

"Thankfully, the bullet didn't hit any veins or his organs, although it was dangerously close to one. He is strictly advised to be confined at the hospital then. He's still under observation; nobody knows what will happen for the next twenty-four hours. He suffered enough blood loss. That's all. Take extra attention to his needs, okay? He cannot move freely temporarily because he just got out of surgery. Therefore, assist him as you can."

The doctor added, "Oh, if you're visiting him, please make sure to keep it in small groups, better yet if it's just two people at a time. It could stress the patient if all of you would simultaneously enter his room. If you need some assistance or help, just press the button beside the patient's bed. Excuse me, I'll be going now."

"Thank you, doctor," Kaoru Hyuuga, Natsume's mother said. The doctor smiled and walked away from them.

"Natsume's... shot? Nobody told me about this. Wha-how?" Ruka made gibberish sounds.

Kaoru sighed. "It's best if you don't know anything about this, Ruka."

"Fine, I'll not dig in further about that anymore," he replied.

Even though Ruka said that, he wanted to know what really happened to Natsume. He knew something was wrong when Natsume didn't show up for classes this day. He felt it on his gut, he could say. He excused himself from his best friend's family and went out of the hospital. He took out his phone from his pocket and dialed the person who he knew could answer his questions.

"_Nogi, what is it? I don't have much time right now—" _Hotaru started. Ruka wouldn't miss the weariness on her tone. It must have stressed her enough finding Mikan. It was noticeable to everyone because Hotaru Imai would miss classes every now and then, the opposite on how she would behave before the kidnapping. Like him, her best friend was also a top priority.

"Natsume's shot, do you know what happened? Is this connected to Sakura in some other way?" Ruka rained her with questions before she could finish her sentence.

"_What if I told you it's completely connected to Mikan? What are you going to do?" _If that were the case, Mikan would be literally the death of Natsume. But if that happened, then Natsume found out about Mikan's whereabouts? Wow, Natsume could be really something. If it comes to Mikan, he would really do anything just for her safety. It just showed how Natsume loved Mikan.

"I want them to disappear. I want to avenge Natsume. He was close to dying, for goodness' sake! Don't you know how miserable I was waiting for Natsume's surgery to finish?"

"_Calm your noggin, Nogi. Hyuuga's going to be fine. Although we have no leads as of the moment, I'm confident we will catch the bastard behind this."_ Somehow, he felt Hotaru was trying to reassure him, which in his case, he found it odd. Well, they shared the same feeling, being concerned about their best friends' well-beings. If someone hurt them, they would surely pay the consequences.

"Okay, just call me if you need my help," Ruka brought down the phone and ended the conversation. He, like Hotaru, also wanted to find the criminal who did this to their closest friends, even if it meant using his power or losing money.

A moment later his phone rang and he answered it. He looked and saw it was Hotaru's caller ID. "Hello?"

"_Nobody brings down the phone ahead of me," _then the line went dead. Ruka could recognize that distinct voice of Hotaru. He smiled, finding Hotaru's antics childish. Her pride and her ego... He wouldn't be talking to Hotaru without feeding her ego and protecting her pride.

* * *

><p>"The signal's out. Team Alpha, get ready," Persona commanded as he brought down his phone. He looked at the screen in front of him where it showed Reo's car in a secluded territory. He occupied a room with completely pastry walls that it could be mistaken as a place for asylum patients. People around him were working on flat screen computers, seemingly busy with whatever they're doing. Persona crossed his arms as he watched Reo's every movements.<p>

"Yuka-san, you finally arrived," Persona said as he heard the sharp clanking of heels against the floor behind his back. He turned around and bowed at the woman who appeared.

The aforementioned person went beside him and looked at the gigantic screen. "How's my daughter?" she began.

Persona licked his lips—a trait he would always do if he was nervous. "She was punched in the stomach by Reo because she wouldn't obey him. But I know she's okay, just unconscious." He didn't miss the instant gripping of her knuckles when he said that statement. "Don't worry; we'll get her back soon. We're just getting ready for the preparations. I know Kuonji wouldn't back down without a fight. How did you escaped from the Imais and your husband?"

"I made them believe the New York branch's CFO was getting into trouble to help you here. It wouldn't exactly work if Shiki isn't a good actor." Yuka chuckled after she said that.

"Do you think they would get suspicious? What if they found out?" Persona narrowed his eyes at her.

"That I'm a part of the Task Force? They wouldn't know, trust me. It would take those people hundreds of years before they could figure it out." Yuka rolled her eyes, being sarcastic about the whole idea of her family finding out about her other job besides being the co-CEO of the Yukihara Corporation.

Persona snorted, believing that such could happen. "That purple-eyed girl could tell if she further investigated about you."

"She wouldn't, she's too focused to Mikan to do that." She took a deep breath. "Enough of that. What's the current status?"

"I'm preparing the teams for the incoming attack we could get after I get Mikan from Reo. Kuonji isn't that stupid, I know he is starting to know that I'm a spy. Perhaps, at this moment, he finally discovered about it."

She smiled slightly after hearing Persona's report. "After years of tracking down this man, we're finally getting him into where he belongs. This one heck of a problem will be gone forever in our lives. Rei, What are you planning to do after this?" Yuka said in a soft tone, using Persona's real name.

"Z said I could finally be free from the force. I decided I'm going back to France where I belong. This assignment made me too distant to my home."

"Good. Then, that must mean this is our last mission together." Yuka patted his shoulder. "It was nice working with you, _partner_."

Persona showed a hint of a smile. "It's too early for that, besides, Kuonji isn't completely behind bars yet. Who knows, he could escape from his crimes again."

Yuka nodded. "True, but I could smell the victory lingering in the air."

Silence lingered after that, after a few moments, she talked out of the blue. "Rei, make sure to secure my daughter's safety at all cost and in the process, make yourself safe too. She is our team's primary objective after all. We need to guarantee her protection no matter what."

"I will, even if it means putting my life in danger." Persona nodded as he promised his partner.

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><p><strong>Authors Note: <strong>I'm a bit satisfied on how this chapter turned out. I deleted A LOT of scenes I was supposed to put here just to get my inspiration back. Every time I would open this file, my inspiration would disappear because of how disappointing this chapter would likely turn out. I consider those deleted scenes as bad luck. Gosh, I'm so very thankful that my eagerness to continue this fic came back. I missed you guys. TT_TT I really thought I wouldn't get this done.

Your reviews always make me happy knowing that you're there enjoying this. Thank you soooo much! And I fulfilled my promise of updating within two months. Yey! Oh, I'm thinking about revising this story once it's over. And no, this story is not nearing the end. I repeat; this is still not nearing the end.

Well, it depends on my mood whether I should continue this story or not. I admit; I'm starting to like my other story, **Irresistible Lips**, that's why the update of this story was too slow. I'm busy writing chapters about Irresistible Lips. In fact, I'm starting to draft the ending chapter of that story. Haha! It's just starting and I'm nearing the end chapter. I suggest you to check out that story. I want to know if you'll like it or not. :}

Here, let me provide you the story summary of **Irresistible Lips**:

**Story Summary:** Natsume has gynophobia, also called as phobia of women, the reason why he avoided the female specimens at all cost. Mikan Sakura is one of those delusional fan girls Natsume Hyuuga has. Because of a messed-up plan his father created to cure his phobia, they are stuck with each other. Instantly, he disliked her. But when Yuu Tobita, an old rival comes back to ruin his life again, Natsume has to claim what he has or else they'll be gone forever. A battle of pride? Or a battle for… Love?

Random: I LOVE my new DP! Seohyun


	16. Chances

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Gakuen Alice or its characters.

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><p><strong>Heir, Heiress<strong>

**Chapter 16:** Chances

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><p>"Is he awake now?" Kaoru softly asked to Ruka who was sitting beside Natsume's bed as she entered the room.<p>

Ruka sighed forlornly then shook his head. "He's still the same, no signs of waking up."

Kaoru took a seat at the couch nearby Ruka and looked at the unconscious body of Natsume. "Are you hungry? I could buy something at the cafeteria." She asked to Ruka

"I'm good."

"You know, you're here for hours already. You didn't rest since Natsume came out of the operating room, you didn't even change your uniform. Have some fresh air and take care of yourself. Don't worry about Natsume, I'll keep watch."

Ruka, sensing that arguing with her was useless, obeyed her. He would come back later though. "Fine." He sighed tiredly then bowed in front of her. "Then I'll be going now but I'll return."

She nodded and he proceeded on walking towards the door when he remembered something he had to ask. He stopped on his tracks and turned around. "Can I ask why there are bodyguards outside Natsume's room? What really happened to him?"

She just turned her head away from him. "As I told you earlier, it's best if you don't know a thing about this. I-I'm sorry if I couldn't give you a straight answer."

This fuelled his desire to find about it more. No one would try to get away from hurting his best friend. Someone would pay for this. He knew it wasn't an accident, as if what happened to Natsume was intentional.

Some part of his mind told him it was because of Mikan but the possibility that Natsume saw her was close to zero. Japan was a big place and finding her was a lucky chance.

What exactly happened?

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><p>The hospital was swarmed with patients and people stopping by to have check-ups or just visiting their dearest. It was obvious that the hospital was full of busy people; nurses were running around for errands, doctors would enter numerous rooms and so on. Every personnel had some tasks on their hands.<p>

At this mess, there stood a man wearing a facemask and a scrub suit the doctors would often wear if they would operate somebody. The man smirked underneath the accessory across his mouth. He pulled the wheelchair near him and stroll it, dodging incoming people coming his way.

After about some moments, he stopped by to a room where a placard was placed beside the door with 'Natsume Hyuuga' signed as the patient. The area was secluded and only a couple of bodyguards were there, as if guarding the room. The bulky, muscled bodyguards stopped him from going anywhere further by blocking the door with their bodies. "Who are you?"

The scrub-suited man hurriedly wore a gas mask from the bag he carried and pulled out a can. He threw it near the bodyguards. The bodyguards had no time to counterattack because it produced smoke that prevented them from seeing their surroundings. They put their hands up to their mouth and eventually fell from the ground, unconscious.

After the smoke cleared, the man removed the gas mask and kept in on his bag. He then entered the room, not minding the alarms going off around the hospital. In fact, it didn't look like he had heard them at all.

He scanned the room and found his target: Natsume Hyuuga. It wouldn't take a genius to figure out what he would do. After a moment of scanning the room finding another resident, he proceeded on going to the center of the room where Natsume was laid. As he neared the boy, he felt something hit him. Hard.

But it wasn't enough to make him unconscious. He turned around and saw that it was the boy's mother. Her eyes were wide with shock when she recognized him just by looking at his eyes, then it turned to anger. "I knew you were the bad guy all this time. After reviving your company, all you've paid back to us was this?!"

She tried to hit him again but he avoided it just in time by grabbing her hand. He then made her turn around, her back facing him with a twist to her arm. "It's not my fault you and the Yukiharas are too gullible to fall into my trap. You should have remembered why my company failed in the first place."

After making sure that she wouldn't have a chance to escape from him, he knocked her out by hitting her head. He wouldn't worry of her divulging of his identity. She would soon be trapped on his hand anyways. He proceeded on doing his main task like nothing happened.

He realized that getting Natsume out of the room was impossible because of the huge tank that supplied his air. He needed Natsume alive or else he wouldn't get what he wanted. He also needed to act fast before the guards would catch up to him. He fished out his phone and punched in some numbers. After a while, whomever he was calling, answered his call.

"I need your help."

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><p>Persona knocked on Reo's car window that sent Reo awake. After realizing his partner came, Reo opened the door and got out of the vehicle to converse with him.<p>

"How long is she out?" Persona asked as he glanced at Mikan's sleeping figure at the back seat.

Reo scratched his head. "Dunno, maybe thirty minutes had passed."

His partner in return nodded and opened the backseat. "What are you planning to do?" Reo asked behind him.

He shrugged as if what he did was normal. "What's it supposed to be like?" He leaned down and scooped up Mikan's body, putting his right hand behind her neck and the other on the part behind her knees. "Hey, what are you doing? I thought we're going to the meeting place to get the ransom and return her to her parents?" Reo reminded when he felt that he wouldn't use the car and looked like he had other plans.

Persona sent him a look over his shoulder as he got out of the car, holding Mikan carefully. "I _am_ returning her to her parents."

Reo furrowed his eyebrows, seemingly confused to his statement but then it changed to shock when he felt someone point a gun behind his back. "Put your hands up where I could see them," an unfamiliar voice said.

He turned to Persona who was still in front of him. "What's this supposed to mean, Persona?"

"I said put your hands up where I could see them!" Reo felt the gun press harder on him and he can't do anything but to obey his words. Reo also noticed the armed men going around him, each pointing their guns at him.

Persona seemed calm about this. "I'm Rei Serio, a Secret Service Agent."

"What the hell?!" Reo exclaimed then made move to lunge towards him. "You bastard!" But before he could even get an inch to Persona, someone shot him that immediately got him rolling on the ground in pain.

"Stay still or one wrong move from you, these guys will not hesitate to shoot you," Persona coldly reminded as he walked past him and carried Mikan inside a black van that was parked near him. Reo flinched again as two of the armed men made him stand up and handcuff him, dragging him towards on a separate vehicle.

He could see the future very clear now and it all involved with that stinky prison bars.

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><p>Ruka quickly rushed towards Natsume's room when he heard the alarm going off, not minding the lunch he left behind at the cafeteria. He was with other guards who were trying to make him stay away, but his will to see Natsume was too strong. He found the two guards who were supposed to be guarding his best friend's room lying unconsciously beside the doors.<p>

As he entered the room, he saw Natsume's mother also lying at the bed's foot. He rushed towards her and shook her. "Mrs. Kaoru, please wake up! Your son needs you!" He shook her again in hopes of making her conscious. A medical team arrived and stopped him before he could get irrational. They sent Kaoru outside the room, probably to another separate room to make her rest.

It was unbelievable, just a few minutes ago he was talking to her but now, he saw her there lying, unconscious.

Ruka then glanced at Natsume's bed and the sight of it made his breathing shallow. What Ruka feared the most to happen came: Natsume was nowhere to be found, probably kidnapped by the one who shot him.

"Kid, I told you to stay away from here," one of the officers said that woke him up from his thoughts.

He raised his hand to stop the officer from dragging him. "I know where the exit is, you don't have to show me. Just make sure Mrs. Kaoru to be fine." He exited the room with an irritated look. He then brought out his cell phone and called the person he frequently talked to today. The person answered his call for a few seconds. "Hello Hotaru?"

"_It's Imai to you, Nogi."_ He would have laughed at her response if the situation right now wasn't serious.

After taking a huge intake of breath, he spoke. "Natsume's missing. The guards were taken down and we don't know how the hell it happened." He ran his fingers through his hair and leaned on the wall, putting his arm below the other that was used to hold the phone, supporting it.

"_It seems simple to me; the break-in was carefully planned and the perpetrator must have some connections inside the hospital. Wasn't Hyuuga's mother the one monitoring him? Is she okay?"_

He looked at the ceiling, as if asking for some guidance. "She was unconscious when I got to the room."

"_Oh..."_

"Do you need help in finding Sakura-san? I want to find who made Natsume suffer like this."

"_My parents are on their way to meet the kidnappers and give the ransom money. We could only hope that they would stick to their words." _Her words were cut off in mid-sentence that made him curious._ "Uh-I have to go."_

"Wait; promise me you'll never do something reckless, okay?" He didn't know but he felt like he needed to say it or something bad was going to happen.

"_What kind of crap is this? You need to rest, Nogi. This is seriously messing your brain. Well, whatever, I'm hanging up."_ The line went dead before Ruka could say something, as expected from her. He pocketed his cell phone as he stood there for a moment to think things thoroughly.

He was hungry for justice and he needed it now.

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><p>Persona's phone rang. The caller was from an unknown number. He weighed the pros and cons of answering to a stranger before deciding to answer it. The image that appeared on his cell phone screen immediately shocked him. Natsume Hyuuga was unconscious on a bed with the cords attached to his body. Kuonji grinned who was beside Natsume's bed.<p>

Kuonji laughed like a crazed man and quirked his eyebrow. _"Bet you didn't expect this, huh? Well, I had to admit; I have to think of a possible plan to counterattack you after I found out you're a secret agent. But don't fret, I have a gift for you after the wonderful deed you did to me."_

He kept his cool but inside him; emotions were starting to boil. He must have known or predicted Kuonji would do this. He was supposed to be an agent for goodness' sake!

"What do you want, Kuonji?" he icily replied.

"Is that needed to ask? I want the girl back within four hours and if you didn't comply, this boy beside me will die. Be fast, Persona, the clock's ticking and so is the boy's life. After two hours, I will not hesitate to pull the plugs keeping this boy alive if I still don't have her."

"Why is she so important to you?"

Instead of answering his question, Kuonji indicated that he was ending the conversation. "Good luck, Persona. I hope you understand not messing with me." He smirked before turning off the video call.

Persona sighed frustratingly. Mikan was their subject but he couldn't let a person suffer to save her. He had to do something fast to make both of the teenagers safe. Especially if Natsume just got operated because of a bullet shot. His condition would get worse with Kuonji if possible. He had to save them.

The question was, how?

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><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>So I finally updated within a month. That's a record for me, haha. Thank you very much for the reviews you gave me and in spite of how long I update this story, you still wait for my updates. Okay, special mention to **angelcheonsa **who is the reader I am frequently seeing on reviewing my story. For all the silent readers out there too who still sticks to this story, thank you too. The holiday break is coming up and I know for sure I will start updating regularly. :D


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